Twenty-five years ago today, a little-known RSS pracharak walked into the Gujarat Chief Minister's office and quietly reset the political clock — not just for the state, but, as Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma argues, for India itself. On Wednesday, October 7, 2026, Sarma took to X to mark the silver jubilee of the moment Narendra Modi was sworn in as Gujarat Chief Minister on October 7, 2001, calling it 'a watershed moment in Indian politics which changed the trajectory of Gujarat and Bharat.'

The day Modi stepped into Gandhinagar's top chair

Narendra Modi was appointed Gujarat Chief Minister on October 7, 2001, succeeding Keshubhai Patel, who had stepped down amid poor health and the party's setback in by-elections following the devastating Bhuj earthquake of January 2001. Modi had never held elected office before that appointment — he came directly from organisational work as a BJP general secretary. His swearing-in marked one of the more unconventional entries to a state's top post in modern Indian political history.

Sarma's post, accompanied by a video, poses the question of 'what actually transpired on that day and how did Adarniya [Respected] Narendra Modi ji began his tenure on Day 1' — framing the anniversary as a teachable political moment worth revisiting a quarter-century on.

Why 2001 reads as a turning point

Modi would go on to serve as Gujarat Chief Minister for over 12 years — until May 2014, when he became Prime Minister of India. Supporters credit his tenure with building the so-called 'Gujarat model' of governance, centred on infrastructure investment, ease of doing business, and aggressive investor outreach through the Vibrant Gujarat summits. Critics point to the communal violence of 2002 and its aftermath as an equally defining chapter of those years.

Sarma, a former Congress leader who crossed over to the BJP in 2015 and rose to become Assam Chief Minister in 2021, has been among the most vocal advocates of Modi's political legacy within the party. His post lands on the exact 25th anniversary of the event, lending it the character of a deliberate, curated commemoration rather than an offhand reflection.

Sarma's role as keeper of the BJP's Northeast narrative

As convenor of the North-East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), Sarma occupies a dual role: state executive and regional coalition manager. Marking a Modi milestone publicly is consistent with his established pattern of positioning himself — and the Northeast — firmly within the broader BJP ideological current. The post is targeted at a national audience, invoking Gujarat's transformation as a template the wider party holds up as proof of concept.

The silver jubilee framing invites voters and party workers to draw a straight line from Gandhinagar, 2001 to New Delhi, 2014 and beyond — a narrative arc the BJP has long cultivated ahead of electoral cycles.