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00:00 More than just a temple inauguration, for Narendra Modi it represented the creation
00:06 of a new India.
00:07 In January, the Prime Minister unveiled the Ayodhya Temple, located on the site of a 16th
00:13 century mosque that was destroyed by Hindu hardliners more than 30 years ago.
00:19 It was with this that the 73-year-old informally launched his campaign for a third term - Hindu
00:25 nationalism again a key message.
00:28 "January 22, 2024 is not a day written on the calendar.
00:39 It is the dawn of a new era."
00:46 Modi joined India's main Hindu nationalist party, the BJP, in 1987.
00:51 He quickly rose through the ranks, becoming Gujarat's chief minister in 2001.
00:57 He was accused of doing little to stop the religious riots that broke out a year later,
01:02 when more than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed.
01:06 Following this, he'd been persona non grata in the US, UK and other countries, but visa
01:13 bans were dropped in 2014 when Modi became Prime Minister, after the BJP won a surprise
01:19 majority in Parliament.
01:21 Having been credited with improving Gujarat's economy when he was chief minister, this model
01:26 became a blueprint.
01:27 Though growth was sluggish during Modi's first term, India is now ranked as the world's fifth
01:33 largest economy.
01:35 Modi has also positioned India as the voice of the global south, seeking to make it a
01:40 manufacturing hub as the West looks to reduce reliance on China.
01:44 However, critics say he's failed to create enough jobs and inequalities have worsened
01:50 under his leadership.
01:52 Modi has also been accused of stoking divisions between India's Hindu majority and the country's
01:58 200 million Muslims.
02:00 Some analysts fear further marginalisation of Muslims in a third Modi term.
02:05 Critics have sounded the alarm over prosecutions of rivals and the taming of a once vibrant
02:11 press.