Indian Express Power List 2015: No. 1-10

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: 9 | Sushma Swaraj, 63 | External Affairs Minister

2014: Rank 13

WHY

For someone who has no illusions about which camp she doesn’t belong to, Swaraj is watched for every public statement she makes. Though she bagged a key portfolio, so far foreign policy has been all about Modi.

POWER PUNCH

Her comments on “the country’s spirit of unity amidst diversity” came days after similar comments by Obama left the BJP squirming.

WHAT NEXT

Will travel to Sri Lanka early March to prepare the ground for Modi’s visit mid-March.

BY THE WAY: She has got saris as gifts wherever she has visited as Foreign Minister, even China.

Rank: 10| H L Dattu (64) | Chief Justice of India

NEW ON THE LIST

WHY

The face of the judiciary, he will have a say in the appointment of Lokpal, the CBI director and will also head the proposed National Judicial Appointments Commission.

POWER PUNCH

He led the bench that put the spotlight on the black money case, and compelled the government to submit complete details to the SIT.

WHAT NEXT

He will soon take a call on the Centre’s new policy that seeks to change the regulatory regime of environmental clearances.

BY THE WAY: He is a devotee of the Shani Shingnapur temple in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra.