War Room: The People, Tactics and Technology behind Narendra Modi's 2014 Win

by Ullekh N.P.

‘War Room stands out as an example of real field work and rigorous research… Anyone who wants to understand how decisions are made in India should read this brilliant study of the BJP.’—Dr. Walter K. Andersen, Author of The Brotherhood in The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Hindu Revivalism‘Ullekh NP has crafted a well-researched and gripping narrative of how the BJP seized the moment in 2014. Its penetrating analysis of the personalities, politics and methods of Modi and Amit Shah makes it a useful resource for answering the major question of India’s near-term political Will the BJP in the Modi era realize its ambition of building 2014 to emerge as the dominant party nationwide?’—Sumantra Bose, Professor of International and Comparative Politics, London School of Economics, Author of Transforming Challenges to the World’s largest Democracy‘Ullekh NP tells the story of Narendra Modi’s campaign to lead the world’s largest democracy. A man “destined to reign on his own terms”, Modi knew that being resilient was more important than being first and fast. Years after War Room is published, people will refer to it as the book that told the story of India’s most spectacular election in May 2014 in all its subtle and magnificent details.’—Chitra Subramaniam, Award-winning Journalist and Author

Genres: India, Politics

160 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 26, 2015

Reviews

[E.T. · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 Pros - Honest and candid unlike the usual left-leaning rants against Modi. The writing-style is quite good too. As with recent reads, this too was read when I have been extremely busy professionally. And it did its job by being taking my mind off my work.
Cons - Short and atleast 25% of that too is wasted on backgrounds of Modi and Shah. Should have been more on the "War Room".
Finally, will be reading his book on Vajpayee too.

[Kirtida Gautam · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this book as part of research on politics and propaganda for third book of Yin Yang series.
I didn't like the book. It was clearly a one sided narration of BJP's win in 2014 election. Not that I have any liking for Congress. Congress has badly governed India for 60+ years.
Take away: If you want to understand how social media influences election result, you can read this book for information.

[Matthias Kinghorn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book I read during a sojourn in India in 2016 quite sometime after Narendra Modi had burst onto the international scene as India's new prime minister. I had picked it up from a local bookshop or perhaps even the airport and got riveted to it somewhat. For anyone who is interested in the mechanisms and strategies concomitant with electioneering in one of the worlds largest democracies this is a helpful book. It casts light on the methods employed, most importantly the use of the mobile network, as well as the people tirelessly involved in the process, most importantly Amit Shah and the many volunteers that helped the BJP claim victory.

[Siddarth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though not a data driven book which gives in depth analysis, the book is ideal for an amateur to get a story-like idea of how BJP's election machine won the 2014 Lok Sabha polls by a huge margin.

[Mohit Rawat · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is what it says. The complete drama into the war room of BJP 2014. From planning to Implementation.

[Pankaj Kumar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had keenly followed Mr. Narendra Modi's election campaign which started around middle of 2013. It was almost a flawless campaign and it must have been a great teamwork to accomplish that.

I had long wished that this campaign should be documented so that other people also know about it. This book is one of excellent attempt at the same. It gives you insight of various teams which were responsible for managing different types of campaign. Technology and social media also were heavily used (probably first for an Indian election) in this campaign. You will get insight about that also.

Apart from the campaign, this book provides a brief profile of Mr. Modi. The book also gives some context about mis governance of previous government which created a huge demand of change in leadership which further helped Mr. Modi.

In this short book you will get a huge insight about the team which was involved in near flawless campaign.

[Saurabh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a quick, good read. I really liked that the author - Ullekh NP, touched many points with clarity and brevity - giving you a quick overview of the entire 2014 elections.

I also liked the fact that the book seemed quite unbiased towards the political parties involved.

It was a good read :)

[Ramneet Kaur · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a quick read and a gripping one at that. Author presented facts without bias and crisply.
There is a sense of intrigue to the main characters, Modi, Amit Shah and few other wizards of the biggest electoral campaign in history. It is a well reaserched book. The strategies are presented by understanding the person being interviewed which gives it a feel of being a part of it all.

[Parag Jain · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good insights and comprehensive details about the recent elections

[Ashwin Ramaswamy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unbiased and Balanced

[Midhun kc · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Withdrawn from the taint of senses, abiding in peace, holy with the flowing waters of the great Manikarnika and the sacred Ganga, the source of light and liberation, the blessed Kashi am I.” –Jagat Guru Adi Shankaracharya