around which year did he begin his political career?
1978
Narendra Modi
Modi became an RSS "sambhag pracharak" (regional organiser) in 1978, overseeing RSS activities in the areas of Surat and Vadodara, and in 1979 he went to work for the RSS in Delhi, where he was put to work researching and writing the RSS's version of the history of the Emergency. 
who was the 16th prime minister of india India has only had fourteen Prime Ministers. who is the fourteenth prime minister of india? Narendra Damodardas Modi what are his educational qualifications? He completed his higher secondary education in Vadnagar, Gujarat.
wiki:1796267
Narendra Modi [SEP] Early political career
In November of that year Modi was elected BJP national secretary and transferred to New Delhi, where he assumed responsibility for party activities in Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. The following year, Shankersinh Vaghela, a prominent BJP leader from Gujarat, defected to the Indian National Congress (Congress, INC) after losing his parliamentary seat in the Lok Sabha elections. Modi, on the selection committee for the 1998 Assembly elections in Gujarat, favoured supporters of BJP leader Keshubhai Patel over those supporting Vaghela to end factional division in the party. His strategy was credited as key to the BJP winning an overall majority in the 1998 elections, and Modi was promoted to BJP general secretary (organisation) in May of that year.