IND

Trending Now

JP Nadda

PM Modi, Amit Shah Emerge as two-most ‘Powerful’ Indians in 2024. Read top-10 names here!

In the Indian Express 100 ‘Most Powerful Indians’ list of 2024, the top 10 names comprise Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)/ Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leaders primarily.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has emerged at the top spot on the ‘Most Powerful Indians 2024’ list published by The Indian Express. In the IE 100 list of 2024, the top 10 names comprise Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)/ Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leaders primarily. Besides, billionaire Gautam Adani and Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud have also been listed among the top 10 powerful Indians.

On the other hand, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi stood at the 16th spot on the IE 100 powerful Indians list in 2024 and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo in the 18th position.

Here’s a list of the top 10 powerful Indians in 2024 as per The Indian Express report:

1. NARENDRA MODI

According to the English daily, PM Modi is holding the top position on this list because he has only grown taller and stronger with every passing year. PM Modi has 95.6 million followers on the X platform, the highest among all the world leaders.

2. AMIT SHAH

After PM Narendra Modi, another powerful Indian is Union Home Minister Amit Shah. He is known to be a chief strategist of the BJP under whom the party achieved a landslide victory in the Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh Legislative elections in December 2023.

3. MOHAN BHAGWAT

The RSS Sarsanghchalak has continued to celebrate his uninterrupted innings in power. His presence beside PM Modi during the Ram Temple consecration ceremony of 22 January sent a powerful signal of his position in the NDA-BJP alliance.

4. DY CHANDRACHUD

Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud-led Bench settled legal doubts over the integration of Jammu and Kashmir into the Indian Union, ruling in favour of the Centre’s decision to abrogate Article 370. In the election year, every verdict will be closely watched on how he handles cases of judicial review or reshapes collegium. DY Chandrachud’s stint will end in November.

5. S JAISHANKAR

Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar has impressed citizens with his strong diplomatic skills. His sharp retorts during Russia’s oil sanctions and the Khalistan issue have put India in a stronger position in the game of global diplomacy.

6. YOGI ADITYANATH

The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister is one of the most cardinal leaders in the BJP as his state has the largest number of Lok Sabha constituencies. Centre is allocating billions of dollars for the development of Uttar Pradesh while Adityanath is wooing his Hindu voters with a focus on temple constructions in the state.

7. RAJNATH SINGH

The Union Defence Minister has been PM Modi’s seniormost colleague in the Cabinet. Singh also enjoys goodwill among politicians across party lines for his ‘troubleshooter’ image.

8. NIRMALA SITHARAMAN

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is India’s longest-serving woman FM. Under her leadership, India’s economy registered 7% growth for three years in a row.

9. JP NADDA

Nadda is the main man who is leading the BJP organisation. He has “held his own and gained the trust of the leadership and the rank and file, without coming across as someone trying to over project himself”, Indian Express mentioned.

10. GAUTAM ADANI

The boss of the Adani Group empire with a net worth of $101 billion is the only business tycoon among the top 10 powerful Indians. Adani-led conglomerate has made rapid progress through a string of acquisitions and greenfield projects. Adani’s closest competitor billionaire Mukesh Ambani was on the 11th rank on IE 100 powerful Indians list. Ambani’s net worth is $109 billion as per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

This article was published on Livemint.News!

Also Read : Amid Himachal Crisis, Navjot Singh Sidhu slams 6 Congress MLAs; urges for ‘purge’ in party!

Sonia Gandhi elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan

BJP’s Chunnilal Garasiya and Madan Rathore were also elected unopposed to the Upper House from the state.

Rajya Sabha

Congress leader Sonia Gandhi was elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan on Tuesday, officials said. Bharatiya Janata Party’s Chunnilal Garasiya and Madan Rathore were also elected unopposed to the Upper House from the state, Assembly Secretary Mahaveer Prasad Sharma said. Tuesday was the last day for withdrawing nominations.

As no other candidates were contesting, the three leaders were elected to Rajya Sabha unopposed, the officer said.

The tenure of Rajya Sabha members Manmohan Singh (Congress) and Bhupendra Yadav (BJP) is ending on April 3. The third seat fell vacant after the BJP MP Kirodi Lal Meena resigned from the House in December after being elected MLA.

The BJP has 115 members and the Congress 70 in the 200-member assembly.

Also Read | Rahul Gandhi ‘taken into custody for 30-45 minutes’ in defamation case, gets bail, says lawyer!

There are 10 Rajya Sabha seats in Rajasthan. After the results, Congress has six members and the BJP four. 

Meanwhile, BJP president JP Nadda and three other candidates of the party were declared elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Gujarat on Tuesday. There were four vacant Rajya Sabha seats in the state and as many candidates, all of the ruling BJP, had filed their nomination papers.

As no other candidates had filed nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha elections from Gujarat on four vacant seats, Returning Officer Reeta Mehta declared all the four BJP candidates, including Nadda, elected unopposed to the Upper House of Parliament, an official said.

Tuesday was the last date of withdrawal of nomination forms.

Apart from Nadda, the three others candidates elected unopposed to the upper hpuse were diamond baron Govindbhai Dholakia, BJP leaders Jasvantsinh Parmar and Mayank Nayak. 

With inputs from PTI

Also Read | PM Modi launches Multiple development Projects in Jammu, says ‘Article 370 was main hurdle’