Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday, 17 September 2026 launched the 'Seva Sankalp Abhiyan' in Vadnagar, Gujarat, framing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's life story as a model of public service for India's younger generations, and directly countering critics who questioned the need for a nationwide campaign marking Modi's 76th birthday and 25 years in public life.

What the Campaign Entails

The Seva Sankalp Abhiyan began on 17 September — PM Modi's birthday — and is scheduled to run through 17 October, a month-long nationwide push. At the heart of the campaign is the 'Vadnagar to Varanasi' yatra, a symbolic journey from PM Modi's birthplace in Vadnagar — specifically from the Hatkeshwar Mahadev temple — to his parliamentary constituency's landmark, the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi.

Shah described Vadnagar as Modi's birthplace and Varanasi as his 'karmabhoomi', or the land of his political and public deeds. The yatra, he said, is designed to carry the message of PM Modi's public life to citizens across the country.

Shah Counters Critics Directly

Responding to those who questioned the campaign's rationale, Shah was unsparing. 'Some people who look at things negatively have said, what is the need? Today, I want to tell them that Modi ji's life is such that every child, every adolescent and every young person in India should be introduced to it, so that in the coming days hundreds of Narendra Modis emerge and take India to its rightful place,' he asserted at an event near Sharmishtha Lake in Vadnagar.

Shah framed the campaign not as a political celebration but as a generational investment, arguing that India needs youth who can carry forward the 'India First' principle over the next three generations.

Modi's Governance Record Cited

Shah listed a range of welfare outcomes attributed to PM Modi's tenure, claiming that 25 crore people had been lifted out of poverty and 80 crore people had benefited from various government schemes. He cited initiatives covering housing, household toilets, electricity, tap water, foodgrain distribution, health cover and cooking gas as having reached poor households across the country.

He also referenced the expansion of round-the-clock electricity supply in Gujarat's villages, recalling that during earlier organisational work, villagers had specifically asked for electricity at meal times rather than lengthy political speeches. Shah credited the Modi administration with having delivered on that request at scale.

On women's empowerment, Shah said the government had expanded opportunities in the armed forces, police, science, start-ups, drones and sports, and had also proposed 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and state legislatures.

Modi's Childhood and Early Life Highlighted

Shah spoke at length about PM Modi's upbringing in Vadnagar, describing the poverty of his early years. He said Modi had refused to allow those circumstances to breed resentment, instead developing a vision of all-encompassing development. 'He placed before the country the idea that development should be all-encompassing and should touch everyone,' Shah said.

He also noted that PM Modi had spent 25 years in public life without, in Shah's characterisation, taking a day off from his commitment to public service — with a stated focus on poor communities, backward classes, Dalits and tribal populations.

What Comes Next

The Seva Sankalp Abhiyan is expected to involve Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers and affiliated organisations conducting outreach events across states through 17 October. Shah said he considered it his good fortune to be in PM Modi's ancestral town on his birthday, and offered prayers at the Hatkeshwar Mahadev temple for his long and healthy life. The campaign's broader political messaging — centred on Modi's biographical arc as an inspiration — is likely to feed into the party's outreach ahead of upcoming state elections.