Raj Modi

Rajeshkumar Indukant Modi (born 4 February 1959) is a Zimbabwean businessman and politician who is a member-elect of the National Assembly of Zimbabwe for Bulawayo South.

His election to parliament in 2018 made him the only successful ZANU–PF candidate in Bulawayo, traditionally an opposition Movement for Democratic Change stronghold.

Modi was defeated as a Member of Parliament by Nicola Watson of the Citizens Coalition for Change at the 2023 general election and was not reappointed to cabinet.

[1][2][5] In March 1981, shortly after graduating, Modi married Parul Kothari, who was born in India and moved to Southern Rhodesia as a teenager in 1975.

[5] It was supposed to be a short visit—he arrived with only $50, two pairs of clothes, and a return ticket—but when his father-in-law died unexpectedly, the couple ended up staying to support Parul's mother.

[1][2][5][7] The loan for his plane tickets, which cost $300 and were funded by an Indian religious organization in Bulawayo, needed to be refunded, so he found work and made payments of $20 each month.

[5][7] His first job in Zimbabwe was at a department store in Bulawayo, where he was tasked with sweeping, mopping, cleaning windows and toilets, and delivering goods to customers' homes.

[2][5][7] Two years later, he quit his job at the supermarket to run the shop so Parul could stay home and care for her mother, who had cancer.

[2] He eventually opened twelve supermarkets in total, before selling his company, Sai Enterprises, to Choppies, a Botswana-based multinational grocery retailer, in 2013.

[5][7] His recent projects in 2018 included manufacturing facilities that produce alcoholic beverages, bottled water, and exercise books.

[4] In 2020, his business ventures in development included a solar energy equipment factory, a smartphone and laptop assembly plant, and a shopping complex in Bulawayo's Cowdray Park suburb, which together would employ around 1,000 people.

[6][7][13] His victory was helped by the fact that two candidates, Muvirimi Francis Mangwendeza and Kunashe Muchemwa, ran on the MDC Alliance ticket, splitting the opposition vote.

[7] Mangaliso Ndlovu, under whom Modi initially served,[22] was succeeded as industry and commerce minister by Sekai Nzenza in November 2019.

[23] In October 2018, Modi was criticized for continuing to sell goods in US dollars rather than Zimbabwean bond notes at his businesses, which was against government policy.

[24] In reference to Modi's position as deputy minister, the United Kingdom-based academic Alex Magaisa tweeted, "How do you enforce a government policy when you are breaching it?

[25] Rupani expressed interest in projects related to energy production, and arranged for a group from the Indian Ministry of Education to visit Zimbabwe in February 2020.

Watson was recalled as the MP for Bulawayo South in October 2023 by Sengezo Tshabangu, who claimed that he was the interim secretary-general of the Citizens Coalition for Change.