Narendra Modi — BJP campaign chief

Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi was named chairman of the BJP's campaign committee for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections at the party's conclave in Goa on June 9, 2013 — a move that virtually ensured he would call the shots in the run-up to the general elections. (Ummid/IANS)

The announcement marked the end of the era of the party's ageing patriarchs. The BJP's leadership had been old for a long time — Modi's appointment was meant to infuse young energy into the party, even as his critics kept asking whether he was the party's choice for prime minister or merely its campaign face.

L.K. Advani did not look thrilled. He skipped the BJP National Executive meet — for the first time in the party's history, reportedly registering his opposition to Modi's ascent — and it has long been known that he was never an ardent Modi supporter. His absence was officially attributed to ill health, but few bought that. (The Hindu BusinessLine)

Modi has promised a "Congress Mukt Bharat" — a Congress-free India. "Senior leaders have reposed faith in me. We will leave no stone unturned for Congress Mukt Bharat Nirman," he tweeted after the announcement. (narendramodi.in)

He pledged to end what he called the ineffective rule of Sonia Gandhi and her silent supporters. His backers argued that Manmohan Singh, who critics painted as answering to Sonia Gandhi rather than the nation, had done the country a disservice.

In his address at the Goa conclave, Modi said the country was sinking under the Congress and promised to step up to save it — and that the BJP would be the party to rescue India from corruption and terror.

The BJP is accused of being communal — true? Maybe. But it is the Congress, his supporters argued, that seeks out votes in the name of religion. India needs to grow up — rise above sectarian violence and focus on the aam aadmi and his aam zindagi — providing the basic necessities to one and all.

Modi's record is genuinely contested: he has been criticized for the 2002 Gujarat riots and praised for creating high economic growth. What India needs is just that — high economic growth. The young in India are just looking for a good environment to live and prosper in. Here's hoping Modi can deliver.