POWER PLAYERS

The limits of power are defined by the individuals who wield it. The 10 politicians in our list, recognised as the most powerful in the country, certainly derive their authority from the positions they hold—but that is not the sole source of their power. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for example, has mastered silence and secrecy, craftily combining it with an element of surprise to add an aura to his constitutional authority. From the surgical strike to demonetisation, disruption is the new language of power. And as he constructs his vision of New India, his two major force multipliers—BJP president Amit Shah and RSS sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat—have been redefining India’s electoral politics and seeking to re-engineer its social discourse. At the same time, Modi’s core agenda of development is served by his cabinet colleagues Arun Jaitley and Nitin Gadkari, who have been oiling the wheels of administration to ensure growth in GDP, FDI and road construction.

At the other end of this spectrum are chief ministers—like Mamata Banerjee and Nitish Kumar—who challenge the Modi doctrine. But the narrative of political power has been rewritten this year by two unconventional politicians—UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath and jailed AIADMK chief Sasikala—who were suddenly elevated from the fringe to the core. And then there is Rahul Gandhi, the permanent understudy, who is yet to define his place in the political landscape. He could learn from the other members in the list—Modi, Bhagwat, Mamata and Adityanath.