BJP leader and plaintiff Purnesh Modi (in navy jacket) with lawyers at Surat District Court during hearing of a criminal defamation case filed against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his alleged 'Modi surname' remark. (PTI)
Purnesh Modi, 57, could not have asked for a bigger vindication. Among the two ministers dropped unceremoniously from the last Bhupendra Patel government, and not accommodated in the current, Modi was back on Thursday the man of the moment as it was his complaint against Rahul Gandhi that led to the Congress leader’s conviction.
A lawyer by profession, Modi has been with the BJP since 1984, a large part of it spent in the Surat unit and, last year, won from the Surat West Assembly seat for the third time. The OBC leader and lawyer is also a trustee of the Surat Modhvanik Samast Panch, member of the Sarvajanik Education society, and president of the Samast Gujarat Modh Modi Samaj trust.
You’ve Read Your Free Stories For Now
Sign up and keep reading more stories that matter to you.
Modi started his political career as booth-level convenor of the Wadi falia-Soni falia ward (in the Walled City area of Surat) before becoming a youth wing president of the same ward. He then became an executive body member of the Surat city BJP in 1995, and was municipal councillor between 2000 and 2005. In this time, he also served as the Standing Committee chairman of Surat Municipal Corporation.
From 2007 to 2009, Modi served as BJP election in-charge in Dang Assembly seat and Billimora Nagar Palika polls, while also overseeing the BJP organisation in South Gujarat.
In 2010, he became the Surat city BJP president, and served for two consecutive terms, till 2016. In 2013, he won as Surat West MLA for the first time, and continues to retain the seat, while in 2017, he was made parliamentary secretary of the Gujarat government.
Modi became a minister only in 2021, when the BJP overhauled its entire Gujarat Cabinet. He was made Minister of State, with the portfolios of Road and Buildings, Tourism, Pilgrimage Development, and Civil Aviation. But in August 2022, as the BJP prepared for the Assembly elections, the Road and Buildings portfolio was stripped from Modi, amid talk of delayed works.
The BJP reportedly did not take kindly to his launching an app in his name either, where people could post pictures and complaints about bad roads in their respective areas, so that these could be repaired. Most of the responses that poured in talked about bad roads, the inability of the government to improve them, and Modi’s attitude towards party workers.
Kamal Saiyed is a senior Correspondent for The Indian Express, providing extensive, on-the-ground coverage from Surat and the broader South Gujarat region and the Union territories of Daman, Diu & Dadra Nagar Haveli. With a reporting career at the publication spanning back to 2007, he has established himself as a high-authority voice on the industrial, social, and political pulse of one of India’s fastest-growing urban hubs.
Expertise
Industrial & Economic Beat: Based in the "Diamond City," Saiyed offers expert reporting on the diamond and textile industries. His work tracks global market shifts (such as De Beers production changes), local trade policies, and the socio-economic challenges facing the millions of workers in Surat’s manufacturing hubs.
Civic & Infrastructure Coverage: He consistently reports on urban development and public safety in Surat, including:
Traffic & Urban Planning: Monitoring the city's 13-fold increase in traffic violations and the implementation of new municipal drives.
Public Safety: Investigative reporting on infrastructure failures, fire safety NOC compliance in schools and commercial buildings, and Metro rail progress.
Political Reporting: Tracking the shifting dynamics between the BJP, Congress, and AAP in South Gujarat and the neighboring Union Territories (Daman, Diu, and Dadra & Nagar Haveli).
Crime beat: Armed with a good source network Saiyed has been able to bring out the human side of crime stories in his region ... Read More
