India's 25 most powerful politicians

New Delhi: Nothing succeeds like success. The unstoppable Bharatiya Janata Party-National Democratic Alliance juggernaut seems to prove this over and over again as it inexorably rolls over state after state in India. Having already won a brute majority in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, it has displayed an insatiable appetite for power. In just three years, India has seen the balance of power shift entirely from the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance to the BJP.

The nation has been witness to the rise of new centres of power, even as the influence and reach of regional satraps who lorded over their fiefdoms has abated. Some, who derived their influence from being close to the powers-that-be, have all but been banished. The supremacy of the right-wing politicians and their ilk has been firmly established.

It’s hardly surprising to see the list of India’s 25 most powerful politicians being dominated by members of the NDA government.

We concur no such list can meet with total agreement. If you feel it is incorrect, please go ahead and list your own ‘Top 25 Indian politicians’ in the comments section.

Note: The list takes into account, among other factors, governmental control, media coverage, existing and potential influence over electorate, editorial and user discretion, et cetera.

1/25

India's 25 most powerful politicians

1. Narendra Modi
Designation: Prime Minister of India
Party: BJP
Age: 66 years

2/25

India's 25 most powerful politicians

2. Amit Shah
Designation: Current President of the Bharatiya Janata Party
Party: BJP
Age: 52 years

3/25

India's 25 most powerful politicians

3. Arun Jaitley
Designation: Current Finance Minister, Defence Minister, Minister of Corporate Affairs
Party: BJP
Age: 64 years

4/25

India's 25 most powerful politicians

4. Rajnath Singh
Designation: Home Affairs of India
Party: BJP
Age: 65 years

5/25

India's 25 most powerful politicians

5. Sushma Swaraj
Designation: Current Minister of External Affairs of India
Party: BJP
Age: 65 years

6/25

India's 25 most powerful politicians

6. Yogi Adityanath
Designation: Current Chief Minister of UP
Party: BJP
Age: 44 years

7/25

India's 25 most powerful politicians

7. Rahul Gandhi
Designation: Vice-President of Indian National Congress
Party: Congress
Age: 46 years

8/25

India's 25 most powerful politicians

8. Arvind Kejriwal
Designation: Chief Minister of Delhi
Party: Aam Aadmi Party
Age: 48 years

9/25

India's 25 most powerful politicians

9. Pranab Mukherjee
Designation: President of India
Age: 81 years

10/25

India's 25 most powerful politicians

10. Mohan Bhagawat
Designation: Current Chief of RSS
Party: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)
Age: 66 years

11/25

India's 25 most powerful politicians

11. Manohar Parrikar
Designation: Chief Minister of Goa
Party: BJP
Age: 61 years

12/25

India's 25 most powerful politicians

12. Sonia Gandhi
Designation: President
Party: Indian National Congress
Age: 70 years

13/25

India's 25 most powerful politicians

13. Devendra Fadnavis
Designation: Chief Minister of Maharashtra
Party: Bharatiya Janata Party
Age: 46 years

14/25

India's 25 most powerful politicians

14. Nitin Gadkari
Designation: Minister of Road Transport and Highways
Party: Bharatiya Janata Party
Age: 59 years

15/25

India's 25 most powerful politicians

15. Piyush Goyal
Designation: Minister of State for Coal and Power
Party: Bharatiya Janata Party
Age: 52 years

16/25

India's 25 most powerful politicians

16. Smriti Irani
Designation: Textiles Minister
Party: Bharatiya Janata Party
Age: 41 years

17/25

India's 25 most powerful politicians

17. Uddhav Thackeray
Designation: Chief of Shiv Sena party
Party: Shiv Sena party
Age: 56 years

18/25

India's 25 most powerful politicians

18. Nitish Kumar
Designation: Chief Minister of Bihar
Party: Janata Dal (United) and Janata Parivar group
Age: 66 years

19/25

India's 25 most powerful politicians

19. Mamata Banerjee
Designation: West Bengal Chief Minister,
Party: All India Trinamool Congress
Age: 62 years

20/25

India's 25 most powerful politicians

20. Mehbooba Mufti Sayeed
Designation: Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir
Party: Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party
Age: 57 years

21/25

India's 25 most powerful politicians

21. Vasundhara Raje
Designation: Chief Minister of Rajasthan
Party: Bharatiya Janata Party
Age: 64 years

22/25

India's 25 most powerful politicians

22. Uma Bharti
Designation: Minister of Water Resources of India
Party: Bharatiya Janata Party
Age: 57 years

23/25

India's 25 most powerful politicians

23. M Venkaiah NaiduDesignation: Minister of Urban Development of India
Party: Bharatiya Janata Party
Age: 67 years

24/25

India's 25 most powerful politicians

24. Suresh Prabhu
Designation: Railway Minister of India
Party: Bharatiya Janata Party
Age: 63 years

25/25

India's 25 most powerful politicians

25. Himanta Biswa Sarma
Designation: Minister – Finance, Health & Family Welfare, Education,
Tourism, GDD, P&D, Pension & Public Grievances India, Assam and Convener, North East Democratic Alliance.
Party: Bharatiya Janata Party
Age: 48 years