Heroes, Villains, Side Artistes and Extras in India’s Politics of 2025

 New Delhi: The chief election commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, looks like the most trolled guy, politically, of 2025. Mr Kumar had become controversy personified for the entire Opposition and has, in a way, managed to unite all the anti-BJP parties by his alleged actions and statements that prompted them to accuse him of being the “hatchet man” of the ruling establishment. Stalwarts like Union home minister Amit Shah failed to douse the grave Opposition doubts in Parliament over the EC’s functioning and the SIR issue. The Congress’ rally at Delhi’s historic Ramlila Maidan at the fag end of the year indicated that the “vote chori” campaign is not likely to stop anytime soon. Prime Minister Narendra Modi remains the star performer of his party as the BJP created a hat-trick by winning Haryana, Delhi and Bihar. The Opposition, however, cried foul, and tried to puncture holes in the BJP wins. The Magician of the Year was undoubtedly Jagdeep Dhankhar. The leader performed the Houdini trick of suddenly vanishing from the public scene. The vice-president was presiding over the Rajya Sabha till late one afternoon, but was literally gone in the night, inexplicably. He left everyone puzzled about how one of the most vociferous presiding officers of the Upper House just became speechless and disappeared into thin air. Shocked by the entire Dhankhar episode, the BJP brought in old faithful C. P. Radhakrishnan, who was the governor of Maharashtra in his place. If patience is a virtue, 2025 saw Rahul Gandhi face defeat after defeat, searching for victory like that in the Lok Sabha polls. Some cricket aficionado could dub the Congress leader the “Gautam Gambhir” of politics. The “steadfast” trophy could also be claimed by Rahul Gandhi, as he remained firm on the “vote chor, gaddi chor” campaign despite the many electoral setbacks. For the supporters and admirers of Mr Gandhi, however, “One man with courage is a majority”. Tejashwi Yadav could be one of the most shocked guys in the year gone by, as “Chacha” Nitish created a record by being sworn in as the CM for the tenth time in a row. Prashant Kishor and his Jan Suraaj party were talked about as the brightest maiden IPO of a startup that ended in a whimper. Mr Kishor sought to emulate Arvind Kejriwal of the AAP, who himself lost power in Delhi after being CM for 10 long years. The worst political tragedy of 2025 befell an ailing Lalu Prasad Yadav as his son’s dream to become the CM shattered and one of his daughters, Rohini Acharya, left the family in a huff over being ignored during the elections. Shashi Tharoor turned out to be the best trapeze artist, as he left everyone in the Opposition wondering whether he was on the side of the Congress, on whose ticket he entered the Lok Sabha for the third time, or whether he had de facto bolted to the treasury benches. It’s interesting to note the articulate former Union minister’s predicament was revealed as he declined the Veer Savarkar award. Developments by the year-end suggested that he could be having second thoughts. The local elections in Kerala showed that the CPI(M)-led LDF is expected to face an uphill task in the Assembly polls next year. The southern state is the lone one with a Left government at a time when the CPI(M) and its allies are facing their worst crisis. As the New Year looms, the ruling Congress in Karnataka faces a power tussle with deputy chief minister D. K. Shivakumar seeking the top post, replacing Siddaramaiah, which leaves the beleaguered Congress in a tight spot. The dubious distinction of the most crass behaviour could go to a local BJP leader somewhere in

Madhya Pradesh, who was caught on the toll camera doing the “act” in the middle of the road in the dark. An unprecedented “feat” indeed. Barring Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar of the JD(U) and Andhra CM N. Chandrababu Naidu of the TDP, most other allies of the BJP in the ruling NDA were either side artistes or extras in the political picture dominated by the world’s largest party. The BJP never fails to spring surprises. It has now brought in a young Nitin Nabin as its national working president. This is also apparently to bury the campaign of failure of the party leadership to find a successor to J. P. Nadda, whose tenure had ended a long time back, as the party president. In faraway Maharashtra, Parth Pawar, son of deputy CM Ajit Pawar, landed his father and his NCP in the political soup after getting embroiled in a Rs 400-crore land scam in Pune. The rise of film star Vijay in the politics of Tamil Nadu ahead of the Assembly polls there next year has aroused much curiosity. The DMK, led by chief minister M. K. Stalin, is in power there. Troubled Manipur posed a problem for the ruling party and the government as the situation hasn’t changed much there on the ground. It will soon be the first anniversary of controversial CM N. Biren Singh’s resignation amid BJP discord and a looming no-confidence motion following ethnic violence and Supreme Court scrutiny. Chief ministers Nitish Kumar of Bihar and N. Chandrababu Naidu of Andhra Pradesh continue to play second fiddle in the NDA, unwilling to play any role at the national level. Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath is a BJP leader who must be watched. This is because successive victories in Assembly elections after the setback in the Lok Sabha polls has made Narendra Modi and Amit Shah stronger, and they could checkmate the UP chief minister. The Winter Session of Parliament, held towards the end of the year, meanwhile, saw the Opposition regaining some of its voice and bite.