Keshubhai Patel was asked to step down from his post as Gujarat’s Chief Minister in October 2001. He was held responsible for the government’s poor response to the Bhuj earthquake just a year before. The natural calamity has led to the death of at least 20,000 people.
But Patel’s loss was Modi’s gain as the latter stepped in to replace him as the Chief Minister of Gujarat.
Four months down the line, in February 2002, Modi’s won his first-ever by-election and secured a seat in the Gujarat state assembly.
Soon after, communal riots raged across Gujarat in 2002 while Modi was at the helm and many pointed the finger at him for doing little to stop the violence, which led to the death of thousands, a majority of whom were Muslims.
But the accusations also brought him national attention.
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