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2015 Report Card: From Modi to Kejriwal, here are the big winners and losers of Indian politics

A report card of politicians who were in the news in 2015.

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Narendra Modi:

The PM started the year in a great high, with Obama coming as the state guest for Republic Day. But it was all downhill from there. String of election  losses including the brutal snubbing in the capital reduced his political stature to an extent. His prolonged silence on issues like Ghar wapsi, Dadri and 'growing  intolerance' was severely criticised by his opponents. His foreign tours became subject of copious memes and jokes. Just when it looked like PM Modi’s fortune has gone  into a tailspin, in a Dhonisque manner he salvaged 2015 with a diplomatic coup. PM’s ‘impromptu’ visit to Pakistan elevated his stature as a statesman and earned him  legions of new supporters.

Ratings-8.5/10

Rahul Gandhi:  


If women's empowerment was the phrase of year for Ra Ga in 2014, this time it was ‘suit boot ki sarkar’. After coming back from his mysterious holiday,  Rahul spoke ad nauseam about Modi being sold out to big corporations. His one-prong strategy was to attack the govt till some wise women from Bengaluru gave him a reality check. The year ended with Rahul’s name getting dragged in the National Herald case. Overall it was a moderate year for him after disastrous 2014. Ratings: 7/10

Sonia Gandhi:


Many thought she would slowly fade out of political arena giving way for Rahul. But her interventions were strong, to the point and she made more sense than Rahul (who doesn't?). Even the summons in the National Herald case failed to spoil her composure. She continues to be firmly in command of India’s grand old party. Ratings: 8.5/10

Manmohan Singh:


For many the perception was that Manmohan is likely to go to political retirement post 2014. But somehow the silent Sikh found his voice amidst the  political cacophony and made  major points in front of Modi in a meeting attended by Sonia Gandhi to broker ground for GST . Manmohan being present with Rahul-Sonia in the courtroom  in the NH case also showed that he retains his political heavyweight status. Ratings: 7.5/10

Arvind Kejriwal:


Kejriwal started the year in a low, still grappling after brutal defeat in Lok Sabha. But he kept calm, worked at the ground level to mobilise support  and managed to pull off a stunning victory in the Assembly Polls. But from then it has been more of trying to stay in news either through bad movie reviews or random allegations. Kejriwal understands he may be in power at King’s Landing but the Iron Throne is way off limits. But his desperation is showing and his moderate supporters are already feeling despondent. Yet there is enough time for course correction for this Aam Aadmi. Ratings: 8/10.

Lalu Prasad Yadav:

The proverbial comeback man, Lalu was the big winner of 2015. He sacrificed the chair of CM to Nitish Kumar but ensured that Bihar stops the Modi  honeymoon, once for all. He provided the blueprint to stop BJP everywhere and ended up with more seats than JD(U). Lalu whose political epitaph had been written by many, suddenly come back to life to and was comeback man of the year. Ratings: 9.5/10

 Nitish Kumar:


Nitish won a hard battle to be the CM of Bihar again, but in the process had to compromise by allying with Lalu. Has Nitish made the right gamble for Bihar?  2016 is likely to give more clarity. Overall a good year for a politician who many believe may challenge Modi in 2019. Ratings: 8.5/10

Sushma Swaraj:


Not every politician can end the year on a  high after getting tangled in a major controversy. But then again, Sushma Swaraj is no ordinary politician. The Modigate did manage to take some sheen away from her impeccable records, but Swaraj has maintained the record of being one of the best performing Minister. Her interventions in Lok Sabha are dignified, her assists on Twitter is prompt and portrays the humane face of the government. She laid the edifice of the much talked Modi- Sharif meet in Pakistan. But as a silent warrior she was happy to stay away from the limelight. Ratings: 8.5/10.

Arun Jaitley:


It has been a glum year for him. The Indian economy has continued to perform poorly on many key indices and DDCA row has only added to his pains. The shoddy handling of the FTII row has also not gone down well with the masses. Ratings: 6/10

J Jayalalithaa:


It was also a comeback year for Tamil Nadu’s Amma. She became the CM again after being acquitted in the DA case. When everything was looking hunky dory for her with DMK being a divided house, the massive floods have marred her political fortunes to an extent. Discontentment is natural and overzealous Amma supporters made it worse by trying to put stickers with her pictures on the relief material. Ratings: 7/10

Manohar Lal Khattar:


Haryana CM landed into a hell hole of outrage after making controversial statements about Dadri and beef eating practices of Muslims. Apologies, denials and usual media misquoted trope latter, Khattar remains one of the politicians who ‘liberals’ view with extreme suspicion and ‘nationalists’ with macho pride.  He is a polarising CM to say the least with a  penchant for inaugurating ambulance for cows. Rating: 5/10

Parkash (Mandela) Singh Badal:


 It was a bad year for Punjab after facing sectarian violence and bouts of terrorism in Udhampur. The drug problem continued unabated and the bus accident involving a company owned by the Badals only added to the CM’s woes. With an year to go, Parkash Singh Badal’s Akali and BJP combine looks all set to be booted out of power. 

But what made Badal (in)famous this year even among people who don’t follow politics was PM Modi comparing him to Mandela. That was like the time Shane Warne praised Yousuf Pathan’s hundred as the best innings he had seen. We were all left speechless. Ratings: 4/10

Sitaram Yechury:


The wise man of CPI(M) have finally taken on the reigns of the party. He is erudite, well connected with media but those attributes are unlikely to win him any political battles. However Yechury has made all the right noises so far, hence one can hope for a strong 2016 from him. Ratings: 7/10   

Mahesh Sharma:


Not many probably heard his name before 2015. He is the cultural Minister of the country and has penchant for making statements enough to give PM Modi sleepless nights. From Dadri to Kalam being a nationalist despite being Muslim, Mahesh Sharma has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. A completely forgetful year for a man we'd never heard about. Ratings 2/10. 

Yogi Adityanath:


 

BJP MP Yogi Adityanath kept his volatile image intact with inflammatory comments throughout the year. But cherry on the cake was when he compared SRK to Hafeez Sayeed and asked him to go to Pakistan amidst the intolerance debate. Ratings 1/10. 

Azam Khan:


It's a very hard to take a politician seriously, when you know that he uses the state's police to search for his missing buffaloes. Known for his rather  extreme views about various issues, Azam Khan cranked it to an insane level by trying to give a backhanded justification for Paris terror attack and also saying that  he will raise the Dadri issue in United Nations. Ratings: 1/10

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