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By: Express News Service | Updated: February 28, 2015 5:31 pm
Rank 1 | Narendra Modi (64) | Prime Minister
2014: Rank 1
WHY
Nine months after he led his party to a spectacular victory in the 2014 parliamentary elections, he leads a government where centralisation of power is almost complete — he picks a broom to launch his Swacch Bharat Mission nationwide and reaches out over his ministers to deal with bureaucrats. His PMO is said to be the most powerful since Indira Gandhi’s, virtually the command centre for all ministries. He has a say on everything from the private secretaries his ministers can appoint to the size of India’s Asian Games contingent. He is one politician who makes news every time he speaks (his perpetual stump speeches, ‘Mann ki Baat’, addresses to NRIs) and every time he doesn’t (his ‘silence’ on RSS’s ‘ghar wapsi’ and controversial remarks by his MPs came in for criticism).
POWER PUNCH
Getting Barack Obama as chief guest for the Republic Day parade, the second visit by the President of the US, a country that had not-too-long ago denied Modi a visa.
WHAT NEXT
After the BJP’s crushing defeat in the Delhi Assembly polls, Modi’s mass appeal will be put to test in the Bihar elections.
BY THE WAY
He sends text messages to many senior bureaucrats, asking about the progress of his pet projects.
Rank 2 | Amit Shah (50) | BJP president
2014: Rank 18
WHY
Because he is known to listen to none except Narendra Modi. He scripted the BJP’s stunning performance in Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha elections, winning 71 of 80 seats in the state, and paving the way for Modi to come to Delhi. After that feat, he confidently broke BJP’s alliances and went solo in Assembly elections, emerging as winner in all except Delhi. Never popular among own party leaders, he took no time establishing himself as the unquestionable authority in the BJP.
POWER PUNCH
He removed party veterans L K Advani and M M Joshi as office-bearers and constituted a Margdarshak Mandal for them without triggering any protest from within the party. In the Maharashtra polls, he refused to give in to Shiv Sena’s pressure on seat sharing or ministerial berths.
WHAT NEXT
After his strategy flopped in Delhi, all eyes are now on Bihar.
BY THE WAY: When he was in prison, he read the Bhagvad Gita to fellow inmates.
Rank 3 | Mohan Bhagwat (64) | RSS chief
2014: Rank 10
WHY
As RSS sarsanghchalak, he oversaw the organisation’s relentless campaigning for Narendra Modi as PM and thus helped the BJP win an absolute majority in the Lok Sabha. Unlike his predecessors KS Sudarshan and Rajju Bhaiya who mostly played advisory roles as sarsanghchalaks, Bhagwat is more hands-on, with full control over the organisation.
POWER PUNCH
“Our women are not baby factories,” he said in Kanpur while interacting with 300 delegates from 40 organisations affiliated to the Sangh. That was the first time someone from the Sangh had disowned the Sakshi Maharaj line. Also, during the election campaign, he told RSS cadres not to cross their limits for the BJP and to refrain from chanting “Namo Namo”.
WHAT NEXT
He has the tough task of reining in Modi, who has become larger than his party. His role is also crucial in the NDA government because conflicts are inevitable between RSS members and the BJP-led Cabinet.
BY THE WAY: He was a veterinary officer at Chamorshi, Gadchiroli, Maharashtra, before becoming pracharak in 1975.
Rank 4 | Arun Jaitley (62) | Finance and I&B Minister
2014: Rank 14
WHY
Jaitley has long settled the debate over who is No. 2 in the Cabinet. He is the only minister Modi can’t ignore, as none of his colleagues matches the clout he has in industry, diplomatic and judicial circles. The PM relies on his expertise in trying to turn around the economy.
POWER PUNCH
He heads a key ministry — Finance — despite his loss in Amritsar in the Lok Sabha polls.
WHAT NEXT
He will be key to the government’s promise of achche din.
BY THE WAY: Having lost 30 kg post-bariatric surgery, he now wears blazers and jackets he had collected in ’90s.
Rank 5 | Sonia Gandhi (68) | Congress president
2014: Rank 3
WHY
Her party’s stock has fallen sharply, but Sonia remains the tallest Congress leader, with even disgruntled partymen rallying behind her. Her adversaries still respect her, and visiting heads of states seek to meet her.
POWER PUNCH
After the Lok Sabha polls, she took “full responsibility for this crushing defeat”, thus stamping her authority again on the party and shielding Rahul from blame.
WHAT NEXT
The onus of reviving the Congress falls squarely on her shoulders.
BY THE WAY: Prefers dal with every meal.
Rank: 6 | Pranab Mukherjee (79) | President of India
2014: Rank 5
WHY
His is the voice the BJP can’t ignore. He made his displeasure known on the string of ordinances promulgated by the Centre.
POWER PUNCH
After that warning by Pranab, NDA held back the ordinance on the Arbitration and Conciliation Act.
WHAT NEXT
His role as an upholder of the Constitution will come into play if and when the NDA uses its brute
majority in Parliament to push through laws.
BY THE WAY: During the ‘83 World Cup final, he was so immersed in work that Indira Gandhi had to call him and say, “Go watch the match”.
Rank: 7 | Arvind Kejriwal (46) | Chief Minister (Delhi)
2014: Rank 4
WHY
In just over two years of launching AAP, Kejriwal has scripted two poll victories — his party won 28 out of 70 seats in the Delhi Assembly in 2013, and a historic 67 seats in 2015.
POWER PUNCH
For being the first to check the BJP’s winning spree and reducing the party to three seats in Delhi. Mamata Banerjee and Nitish Kumar have spoken in his support.
WHAT NEXT
He will work towards systemic changes in governance and eventually look to scale up the party.
BY THE WAY: During his activist days, he would trade home-made food for dhaba fare.
Rank: 8 | Rajnath Singh, 63 | Union Home Minister
2014: Rank 11
WHY
As party president of the BJP before the polls, he read the writing on the wall and threw his weight behind Modi as PM candidate. After the BJP’s emphatic win, he was put in charge of the crucial Home Ministry.
POWER PUNCH
Singh has been chosen to talk to farmers opposed to BJP’s land ordinance. For Singh, this could be his chance to come into his own.
WHAT NEXT
Will he emerge as the rallying point for those cut up with the Modi-Shah combine?
BY THE WAY: In the 1980s, he wrote a book on unemployment that is out of print now. He too doesn’t have a copy.
Rank 1 | Narendra Modi (64) | Prime Minister
2014: Rank 1
WHY
Nine months after he led his party to a spectacular victory in the 2014 parliamentary elections, he leads a government where centralisation of power is almost complete — he picks a broom to launch his Swacch Bharat Mission nationwide and reaches out over his ministers to deal with bureaucrats. His PMO is said to be the most powerful since Indira Gandhi’s, virtually the command centre for all ministries. He has a say on everything from the private secretaries his ministers can appoint to the size of India’s Asian Games contingent. He is one politician who makes news every time he speaks (his perpetual stump speeches, ‘Mann ki Baat’, addresses to NRIs) and every time he doesn’t (his ‘silence’ on RSS’s ‘ghar wapsi’ and controversial remarks by his MPs came in for criticism).
POWER PUNCH
Getting Barack Obama as chief guest for the Republic Day parade, the second visit by the President of the US, a country that had not-too-long ago denied Modi a visa.
WHAT NEXT
After the BJP’s crushing defeat in the Delhi Assembly polls, Modi’s mass appeal will be put to test in the Bihar elections.
BY THE WAY
He sends text messages to many senior bureaucrats, asking about the progress of his pet projects.
Rank 2 | Amit Shah (50) | BJP president
2014: Rank 18
WHY
Because he is known to listen to none except Narendra Modi. He scripted the BJP’s stunning performance in Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha elections, winning 71 of 80 seats in the state, and paving the way for Modi to come to Delhi. After that feat, he confidently broke BJP’s alliances and went solo in Assembly elections, emerging as winner in all except Delhi. Never popular among own party leaders, he took no time establishing himself as the unquestionable authority in the BJP.
POWER PUNCH
He removed party veterans L K Advani and M M Joshi as office-bearers and constituted a Margdarshak Mandal for them without triggering any protest from within the party. In the Maharashtra polls, he refused to give in to Shiv Sena’s pressure on seat sharing or ministerial berths.
WHAT NEXT
After his strategy flopped in Delhi, all eyes are now on Bihar.
BY THE WAY: When he was in prison, he read the Bhagvad Gita to fellow inmates.
Rank 3 | Mohan Bhagwat (64) | RSS chief
2014: Rank 10
WHY
As RSS sarsanghchalak, he oversaw the organisation’s relentless campaigning for Narendra Modi as PM and thus helped the BJP win an absolute majority in the Lok Sabha. Unlike his predecessors KS Sudarshan and Rajju Bhaiya who mostly played advisory roles as sarsanghchalaks, Bhagwat is more hands-on, with full control over the organisation.
POWER PUNCH
“Our women are not baby factories,” he said in Kanpur while interacting with 300 delegates from 40 organisations affiliated to the Sangh. That was the first time someone from the Sangh had disowned the Sakshi Maharaj line. Also, during the election campaign, he told RSS cadres not to cross their limits for the BJP and to refrain from chanting “Namo Namo”.
WHAT NEXT
He has the tough task of reining in Modi, who has become larger than his party. His role is also crucial in the NDA government because conflicts are inevitable between RSS members and the BJP-led Cabinet.
BY THE WAY: He was a veterinary officer at Chamorshi, Gadchiroli, Maharashtra, before becoming pracharak in 1975.
Rank 4 | Arun Jaitley (62) | Finance and I&B Minister
2014: Rank 14
WHY
Jaitley has long settled the debate over who is No. 2 in the Cabinet. He is the only minister Modi can’t ignore, as none of his colleagues matches the clout he has in industry, diplomatic and judicial circles. The PM relies on his expertise in trying to turn around the economy.
POWER PUNCH
He heads a key ministry — Finance — despite his loss in Amritsar in the Lok Sabha polls.
WHAT NEXT
He will be key to the government’s promise of achche din.
BY THE WAY: Having lost 30 kg post-bariatric surgery, he now wears blazers and jackets he had collected in ’90s.
Rank 5 | Sonia Gandhi (68) | Congress president
2014: Rank 3
WHY
Her party’s stock has fallen sharply, but Sonia remains the tallest Congress leader, with even disgruntled partymen rallying behind her. Her adversaries still respect her, and visiting heads of states seek to meet her.
POWER PUNCH
After the Lok Sabha polls, she took “full responsibility for this crushing defeat”, thus stamping her authority again on the party and shielding Rahul from blame.
WHAT NEXT
The onus of reviving the Congress falls squarely on her shoulders.
BY THE WAY: Prefers dal with every meal.
Rank: 6 | Pranab Mukherjee (79) | President of India
2014: Rank 5
WHY
His is the voice the BJP can’t ignore. He made his displeasure known on the string of ordinances promulgated by the Centre.
POWER PUNCH
After that warning by Pranab, NDA held back the ordinance on the Arbitration and Conciliation Act.
WHAT NEXT
His role as an upholder of the Constitution will come into play if and when the NDA uses its brute
majority in Parliament to push through laws.
BY THE WAY: During the ‘83 World Cup final, he was so immersed in work that Indira Gandhi had to call him and say, “Go watch the match”.
Rank: 7 | Arvind Kejriwal (46) | Chief Minister (Delhi)
2014: Rank 4
WHY
In just over two years of launching AAP, Kejriwal has scripted two poll victories — his party won 28 out of 70 seats in the Delhi Assembly in 2013, and a historic 67 seats in 2015.
POWER PUNCH
For being the first to check the BJP’s winning spree and reducing the party to three seats in Delhi. Mamata Banerjee and Nitish Kumar have spoken in his support.
WHAT NEXT
He will work towards systemic changes in governance and eventually look to scale up the party.
BY THE WAY: During his activist days, he would trade home-made food for dhaba fare.
Rank: 8 | Rajnath Singh, 63 | Union Home Minister
2014: Rank 11
WHY
As party president of the BJP before the polls, he read the writing on the wall and threw his weight behind Modi as PM candidate. After the BJP’s emphatic win, he was put in charge of the crucial Home Ministry.
POWER PUNCH
Singh has been chosen to talk to farmers opposed to BJP’s land ordinance. For Singh, this could be his chance to come into his own.
WHAT NEXT
Will he emerge as the rallying point for those cut up with the Modi-Shah combine?
BY THE WAY: In the 1980s, he wrote a book on unemployment that is out of print now. He too doesn’t have a copy.
