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Narendra Modi, the Hindu nationalist chief minister, was hailed as a candidate to become India's next prime minister on Thursday after a landslide victory in the state elections.
His victory strengthened his position to lead India's mainstream opposition party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, in the 2014 general election, after a number of senior BJP allies had voiced serious concerns over his suitability. Mr Modi has been one of India's most controversial political leaders since the riots in 2002 when communal clashes led to the killing of between 790 and 2,000 Muslims and several hundred Hindus throughout Gujarat.
The violence was sparked by reports that 54 Hindus had been killed in a fire after Muslims attacked their train at Godhra. More than 30 Hindus were sentenced to life imprisonment last year for their role in the killings. In July this year another 32 people were convicted including Mr Modi's former home minister, Maya Kodnani, who was jailed for 28 years for murder during two riots in which 95 people were killed.
Modi was accused of failing to stop the killing at best and, at worst, encouraging the violence, a charge he has strongly denied. The United States said there was evidence of complicity among officials and police and revoked Modi's visa in 2005. Britain boycotted the Gujarat government in response to the killings which included the murder of three British nationals.
Despite the controversy surrounding his role at the time of the riots, his stature has grown steadily since and he has built Gujarat into one of India's best-governed and most affluent states. His party has lost the last two general elections butModi is increasingly seen as the leader who could finally return the Hindu nationalist party to power.
Britain announced it would end its boycott in October and sent its High Commissioner to meet Modi as part of its drive to increase trade with India, while the US said he would be eligible to apply for another visa. Both decisions were driven in part by the possibility that Modi could be India's next prime minister.
He won 115 of 182 seats in the state assembly and marked his victory by apologising for his past mistakes. His supporters chanted "PM" in celebration. The BJP's leader in the Indian parliament's upper house, Arun Jaitley, said his past should no longer constrain his future.
