Prime Minister Narendra Modi's birthday: Timeline of his political journey so far

New Delhi, Sep 17: Prime Minister Narendra Modi turns a year older today. On this special occasion, BJP leaders and workers across the country have planned several events and initiatives that will be taken up from today till October 2 -- the day which marks the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

As he celebrated his 72nd birthday, let's take a look at his political journey:

1958: Narendra Modi was introduced to the RSS and he starts attending local shakhas (training sessions). He meets Lakshmanrao Inamdar, popularly known as Vakil Saheb, who inducted him as a balswayamsevak (junior cadet) in the RSS and became his political mentor.

1965: The actual political journey of Prime Minister Narendra Modi kicked-off as the Kankaria ward secretary of the Jan Sangh in 1965 in Ahmedabad after joining the RSS at the age of eight.

1971: Modi's first known political activity as an adult was in 1971 when he joined a Jana Sangh Satyagraha in Delhi led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee to enlist for the battlefield during the Bangladesh Liberation War.

1975: Modi was appointed general secretary of the "Gujarat Lok Sangharsh Samiti", an RSS committee coordinating opposition to the Emergency in Gujarat.

1978: Modi became an RSS sambhag pracharak (regional organiser), overseeing RSS activities in the areas of Surat and Vadodara, and in 1979 he went to work for the RSS in Delhi, where he was put to work researching and writing about the history of the Emergency.

1987: Modi forayed into mainstream politics after being promoted as the as the General Secretary of the Gujarat. He helps organise the BJP's campaign in the Ahmedabad municipal election, which the BJP won comfortably.

1987: After LK Advani became president of the BJP in 1986, the RSS decided to place its members in important positions within the BJP. Modi's work during the Ahmedabad election led to his selection for this role, and he was elected organising secretary of the BJP's Gujarat unit.

1990-1991: Modi rose within the party and was named a member of the BJP's National Election Committee in 1990, helping organise LK Advani's Ram Rath Yatra in 1990 and Murli Manohar Joshi's 1991-92 Ekta Yatra (Journey for Unity).

1992: He takes a brief break from politics in 1992 following a friction with Shankersinh Vaghela, a BJP MP from Gujarat at the time.

1994: Modi returned to electoral politics in 1994, partly at the insistence of Advani, and as party secretary, Modi's electoral strategy was considered central to the BJP victory in the state assembly polls in 1995.

1995: Modi was appointed BJP national secretary and transferred to New Delhi, where he assumed responsibility for party activities in Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.

1995: BJP comes to power in Gujarat for the first time after which he was appointed as the National Secretary. In 1998, he was elevated to the post of General Secretary.

2001: Modi replaces Keshubhai Patel in 2001 following the allegations of abuse of power, corruption and poor administration were made, and Patel's standing had been damaged by his administration's handling of the earthquake in Bhuj.

2002: He won a by-poll on February 24, 2002.

2002: On 27 February 2002, a train with several hundred passengers burned near Godhra, killing approximately 60 people. The train carried a large number of Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya after a religious ceremony at the site of the demolished Babri Masjid. In making a public statement after the incident, Modi declared it a terrorist attack planned and orchestrated by local Muslims.

2002: Modi was criticised over the communal riots and cases were slapped against him over his alleged personal involvement. Modi submitted his resignation at the April 2002 BJP national executive meeting in Goa, but it was not accepted.

2002: In the assembly elections, the BJP won 127 seats in the 182-member assembly.

2007-2012: Under his leadership, BJP registers landslide victories in Gujarat by winning 117 seats in 2007 and 115 in 2012.

2014: PM Modi was elevated as Prime Ministerial Candidate in 2013 and under his leadership the BJP registers landslide victory as the saffron party won 282 Lok Sabha seats.

2019: The BJP, under his leadership, creates history by winning 303 seats.