As the BJP government kicks off the celebrations for eight years of being in power with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Shimla, this visit has yet again brought to fore his special bond and love for the people of the hill state.

More than two and a half decades ago, when Narendra Modi visited Himachal Pradesh as the state BJP in charge, no one, and perhaps Modi too might not have had this inkling, that the political journey he was embarking upon from the land of gods and goddesses, would take him to the throne of Prime Ministership in Delhi one day.

Modi came to Himachal Pradesh in 1997 as the state BJP in charge and on the strength of his political farsightedness and hard work, he not only carved a niche for himself but also ensured that the BJP government was formed in the hill state under the leadership of Prem Kumar Dhumal one year later, despite a dominating Congress, which was then led by a stalwart Raja Virbhadra Singh.

It was during his stint as the state BJP in charge that he travelled to the nook and corner of the state and developed personal equations with several locals whom he still remembers fondly. The heartwarming anecdotes and titbits involving him can still be heard from those who had a close association with him in the late nineties in Shimla and other parts of the state.

Even today several senior BJP leaders and locals recall his effective and unique style of working, which made him stand apart as a party leader.

Soon after taking over as the state BJP in-charge, the first thing he did was to equip the Himachal BJP office running on the old pattern with modern means. New computers were installed in the office and gradually all the work was done on computers. Not only this but new vehicles were also purchased to speed up the pace of work. To ensure that the Himachal BJP does not have much financial burden, he also raised money through donations using his relations. Before him, no in-charge had ever done this. The state party unit’s functioning was overhauled completely.

Modi himself used to sit with a diary in the meetings and ensured that all the other leaders, including the seniors, attended the meeting with a diary and a pen. This made several senior leaders of the party uncomfortable. Senior party leaders recall that every meeting started with a review of the implementation of the decisions that were taken in the previous meeting.

This accelerated the pace of the party’s work which gave new vigor to the BJP in the state.

Whenever he found little time from the party activities, he would go around the Mall Road and interact with the locals including journalists. He loved sitting and chatting with journalists at the coffee house.

During his earlier visits to the hill state, Modi has always been vocal about his special bond and affection for the hill state and its people.

In his address to the gathering in one of his earlier visits to Shimla, after he was sworn in as the Prime Minister for the first time, Modi while recalling the names of a few local journalists from the dais, had fondly mentioned that generally, it’s the politicians who offered coffee to the journalists, but such was his bonding with the Shimla’s journalists that they used to pay for his coffee in the coffee house.

Modi’s other frequently visited place was Deepak Bhojnaalaya, adjacent to Mall Road, owned by a local BJP worker. Deepak’s small house, which is right in front of the eatery in the market was a designated place for short breaks from his hectic schedule. Sometimes during the day, he would come to the place and lie down on a small cot for a nap. Deepak and his family members fondly recall the days and time they spent with him.

And though Modi, shared a personal bond of love and affection with several locals and party workers, he never got involved in the transfer politics, something which is seen as unavoidable for the politicians and the chief ministers of successive governments in the hill state.

A veteran BJP leader recalls that once in the coffee house, he plainly refused to recommend a transfer request made by a senior BJP worker, who was pretty close to him, while categorically telling him that he did not indulge in such politics.

In fact, he was always heard telling his people that no Chief Minister or government should waste time on unproductive work like transfers.

Years later, when Modi became the Chief Minister of Gujarat, this correspondent got an opportunity to meet him in his office at Gandhi Nagar. Recalling his stint in Himachal and friendly banter with the journalists in the coffee house, he posed a query, passing an infectious smile, “You must have noticed the difference between the secretariats of Himachal and Gujarat. Here you would not find the crowds swarming the secretariat for transfers as you see in Himachal. In Himachal even for the transfer of a Class 3 employee, a recommendation is to be made by the chief minister and as a result, the chief ministers are not able to devote much time to the bigger issues like policymaking. Whereas in Gujarat, I try to spend more time on bringing investment and ensuring the implementation of development-related activities in the state. Even this morning I had a long meeting with a foreign delegation. This meeting has paved the way for the investment of about sixteen thousand crores in Gujarat.”

What made him a hard taskmaster and one of the most effective chief ministers was apparent from his style of functioning.

“If someone comes to me with a recommendation for work for a minister or official, I consider it a complaint against that particular individual, as it only shows that the person concerned is not doing his job properly,” he had told while citing the example of a young IAS officer posted in district Rajkot, who belonged to Himachal.

Despite his simple way of living and extraordinary observations, Modi proved during his sting in Himachal as a state in charge that he was an astute politician and a master of political maneuvering.

During the 1998 assembly elections, there was a neck-to-neck fight between Congress and the BJP later both the parties were ready to claim the stakes for forming the government after winning an equal number of seats.

BJP leaders recall that it was due to deft planning by Modi that one of the MLAs who was assumed to have given support to the Congress decided to change his stand and paved the way for the BJP to form the government at the eleventh hour.

Journalists and local leaders fondly recall how Modi had accompanied Prem Kumar Dhumal for the swearing-in ceremony in a Tata Sumo, amid bonhomie in 1998.

But after the swearing-in ceremony, when the newly sworn-in chief minister Dhumal requested Modi to accompany him in his official vehicle along with the cavalcade, he politely refused with folded hands and said, “My job is done, now you take over and run the government.”

Modi knew how to take along different leaders and their utilization within the party and the government.

It’s not mere a coincidence that Jagat Prakash Nadda, the then health minister of the Dhumal government, later went on to become the union health minister during his earlier tenure as the Prime Minister and is now is the BJP president.

Now ahead of assembly elections in Himachal, again it’s his charisma and the local connection with the masses which the state BJP is going to rely on heavily to win the votes.