Thiruvananthapuram | Keralam BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Thursday greeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his 76th birthday, saying he "exemplifies" 'seva', a word which was included in the Oxford English Dictionary in 2024.

Prime Minister Modi was born on September 17, 1950, in the small town of Vadnagar in Gujarat.

Chandrasekhar, in an 'X' post, said that, according to the dictionary, the word 'seva' is defined as selfless service.

He contended that just as the word was not in the dictionary before 2024, India's political culture did not have seva as a goal in the past.

"Before 2024, the dictionary did not have this word, just as our political culture did not have seva as a goal. In 2024, Oxford brought seva into vocabulary and dictionary formally. I join crores of Indians and people around the world in wishing respectful birthday greetings to our nation's PM and Pradhan Sevak @narendramodi ji," he said.

The BJP MLA from Nemom constituency said that the PM was a leader who exemplifies seva and "inspires all of us to do the same." He further said that he was privileged and fortunate to work with the PM and contribute to India's transformation and journey towards 'Viksit Bharat'.

"Today, as we celebrate Modi ji's birthday, we are also celebrating 25 years of his #Seva, #PoliticsOfSeva - 25 years of his vision of service. He brought the concept of seva into politics.

"A politics that puts people first. A politics that makes a difference to people's lives. From Gujarat to India, every mandate has brought a larger responsibility, and every blessing, the strength to build bigger. 25 years. His Service. Your blessing. India's strength," he said in his post.