Shah replaced Rajnath Singh in 2014 after Singh was appointed the Union home affairs minister. It was believed that Shah's close ties with Prime Minister Narendra Modi made his re-election highly probable.
Shah is believed to have played a key role in the party’s victory in the assembly elections in Haryana, Maharashtra and Jammu and Kashmir. He was recommended for the position by the prime minister himself, as well as union ministers including Singh, JP Nadda, MA Naqvi, and Venkaiah Naidu. Soon after Shah's re-election, Naidu said: "The combination of PM Modi and party chief Amit Shah will do wonders for the country."
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