There are many things we take for granted, ranging from the quality of our food and water to the seemingly infinite resources at our disposal used for just about everything else, but something even fewer truly appreciate and very many more simply criticize out right is the insight our media gives us into the personal lives of political leaders. Although most of the time it becomes more of an annoyance to both politician and public alike as the newest dinner spot or home pet is “discovered,” on occasion it also reveals private personalities that differ from their political one. This ever so underappreciated factor in American life is on the rise in India and the most recent example is the view into the once almost entirely private, personal life of Narendra Modi, “the man tipped to be India’s next prime minister.”

As a leading candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the office of India’s Prime Minister, Modi has been at the epicenter of Indian politics for some time now. Recently though, his normally positive spotlight has taken a turn for the worse, as it was recently discovered that the once thought, long time bachelor is in fact a married man.

Rumors about the 63 year old having had an arranged marriage at the young age of 17 have been prevalent, but never confirmed. That is until paperwork requiring marital status was filled out and the name of his estranged spouse, Jashoda Modi, was included.

While arranged marriages are a common, the reason this takes such a small, unimportant event and creates a potentially devastating blemish on his chances at becoming the next PM is because of the countless times he claimed he was not married and in fact single. Critics and political opponents alike have used this to emphasize Modi’s possible views of the opposite sex as inferior, something that would not sit well with the growing women voting numbers in India.

As this delicate story unfolds more detail will be released by various sites and agencies, but for now it seems like Modi and his supporters are all holding their breaths, waiting to see the effect this will have on the election.

[Image Attribute: JoVivek via Compfight cc]