Modi has done everything he could do to ensure his smooth entry into 7, Race Course Road. It was a path full of thorns for him. First, he faced stiff opposition from senior leaders like Advani and Sushma but the solid support of RSS helped him cross all the intra-party roadblocks. Once declared as the BJP's PM candidate at the Goa conclave, Modi's next challenge was to position himself as the most suitable politician to lead the country. His track record in Gujarat as a no-nonsense and decisive leader had already created goodwill among the electorate across the country. Even in remote areas, people were not aware of BJP but they had heard the success story of Modi led BJP.
Now the challenge for Modi was to tap those electorates who liked Modi but were not impressed with BJP. Modi knew that the BJP had reached saturation point so far as its influence was concerned and if the party had to win the 2014 elections they had to look beyond their comfort zone. It was under these circumstances that Modi and RSS decided to fully encash Modi's personal appeal so that the party could transcend all barriers of regional, linguistic and sectarian divisions. And a decision was taken by the RSS and BJP leadership to turn the 2014 election campaign into a presidential style campaign for BJP.
With full backing of corporate houses that were willing to put money in the name of Modi, BJP launched a high voltage election campaign. Modi's oratorical skills and his personal charisma came in handy for the party in reaching out to the electorate.
Modi started with development agenda but did not hesitate in playing caste card when he realized it was necessary to overcome the stiff challenge that he faced from leaders like Mayawati, Mulayam and Lalu. A relatively newcomer like Priyanka Gandhi provided Modi with an issue (Neech rajniti) that he exploited to hilt. This episode went on to show how an experienced political player can turn a crisis into an opportunity.
