New Delhi: There are a few politicians about whom media always appears to be crazy. Be it any reason-good or bad, media brings them into limelight. The media admires them, or at times, scandalize and humiliates them. This love and hate relationship with the media is what makes the politicians to stay 'in the news'. Here's a list of those leaders who are the darlings of media: 1. Narendra Modi: Longest serving Gujarat Chief Minister, member of RSS and a Hindu nationalist. Modi is a controversial figure, while his administration has been criticized for 2002 Gujarat riots, he has been praised for his development model and economic policies.2. Rahul Gandhi: The grandson of Gandhi family is known for his youth icon image.He is the Vice President of Indian National Congress and chairperson of Indian Youth Congress. It was Rahul who has come forward with "gamechangers" like Food Security Bill, Land Acquisition Bill and Street Vendors Bill. 3. Arvind Kejriwal: An income tax official turned social activist and politician, he is well known for his strong role in drafting the Janlokpal Bill. He has formed his own political party in November 2012 known as the Aam Admi Party, which is testing the political waters in the Delhi assembly elections. His election symbol is a broom (jhaadu)!4. Sonia Gandhi: She is the chairperson of the UPA since 2004. The Italian-born widow of late Rajiv Gandhi is also the President of Indian National Congress and the longest serving party president in the 125 year history of Congress. She has been the brains behind the Right to Information Act, Right to Education Act and the Food Security Bill. 5. Nitish Kumar: He is the current Chief Minister of Bihar since 2005. As a Chief Minister, he is acclaimed for his developmental and constructive activities in Bihar.It was Nitish Kumar who carved out the Mahadalits from the Dalit votebank which was backing Lalu Prasad and Ramvilas Paswan. Nitish has put Bihar back on the tracks with law and order improving during his rule.6. Sushma Swaraj: She became the country's youngest cabinet minister at the age of 25 in 1977. She is currently the Leader of opposition in Lok Sabha. She was a former cabinet minister and former CM of Delhi. When she was the Cabinet Minister for Information and Broadcasting in 1998, her most notable decision was to declare film as an industry, which made the industry eligible for bank finance.7. Mamata Banerjee: Known as 'Didi', she is the first woman to become the Chief Minister of Bengal. In 2011 Banerjee pulled off a landslide victory for the TMC Congress alliance in West Bengal by defeating the world's longest-serving democratically-elected communist government, the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Front government, bringing to an end 34 years of Left Front rule in the state.8. Akhilesh Yadav: He is the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and the youngest person to hold office as of March 2012. His governing skills come from his father- Mulayam Singh Yadav.9. Manmohan Singh: The current Prime Minister of India, he is the first Sikh to hold the august office. He is a renowned economist and had earlier worked as Chief Economic Adviser, Planning Commission head and RBI Governor.10. Lalu Prasad Yadav: He is the President of Rashtriya Janata Dal party.He was the Minister of Railways and former Chief Minister of Bihar. He is famous for his charismatic leadership and mass appeal. He clubbed together the Muslim, Yadav votebanks to rule Bihar for a long stretch.11. Rabri Devi: She became the first woman Chief Minister of Bihar on 25 July 1997. She is the wife of Lalu Prasad Yadav.12. Raj Thackeray: He is the nephew of late Bal Thackeray, founder of Shiv Sena. Raj Thackeray broke away from his uncle and floated the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena.His party MNS is known for its rabid parochial attitude against non-Maharashtrians (read, North Indians). Raj Thackeray avoids speaking in Hindi and prefers to speak in Marathi. 13. Uddhav Thackeray: He is the present chief of Shiv Sena and was given this role in 2004 after the death of his father Bal Thackeray.14. Jayalalithaa Jayaram: Jayalalithaa is the current Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. She was an actor before joining politics under the tutelage of MGR ( M G Ramachandran). She is the General Secretary of All India Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. 15. Sachin Pilot: Currently the corporate affairs minister, he became the youngest member of Parliament at the age of 26. He is the son of Rajesh Pilot who was a minister in Rajiv Gandhi's government. Rajesh Pilot died in a road accident, and Sachin has inherited his father's political legacy.16. Mayawati: She is the supremo of Bahujan Samaj Party and, under the tutelage of BSP founder late Kanshi Ram, has worked for the welfare of weaker sections of society- Dalits, OBC and other backward classes. She had served four terms as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh until she lost in 2012 Legislative Assembly elections.17. Karunanidhi: He is the supremo of Dravid Munnetra Kazhagam. The former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu holds the record of winning his seat in every election which he has contested. A fiery orator and a revered Tamil film scriptwriter, Karunanidhi inherited the political legacy of DMK founder late M. Annadurai.18. Digvijay Singh: A leading leader of Congress and hailing from the family of ex-ruler of Raghogarh, he served as the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh for two consecutive five-year terms. He is the General Secretary of Congress party.19. Sheila Dikshit: She has been the Chief Minister of Delhi for the last 15 years. Originally from Kannauj, UP, Sheila is considered one of the builders of modern Delhi. She is the daughter-in-law of late Uma Shankar Dikshit, a senior Congress leader of UP. 20. Vasundhara Raje Scindia: First woman Chief Minister of Rajasthan, she was in office from Dec 2003 to Dec 2008. She is the daughter of Vijayaraje Scindia and Jivajirao Scindia, ex-ruler of Gwalior, members of the prominent Scindia Maratha family.21. A. Raja: Andimuthu Raja from DMK is a member of 15th Lok Sabha representing Nilgiris constituency of Tamil Nadu. The 2G spectrum scandal occured when he was heading the telecommunications and IT Ministry. A Raja had to spend time inside Delhi's notorious Tihar jail, after which he came out on bail.22. Mulayam Singh Yadav: An acolyte of late Socialist leader Dr Ram Manohar Lohia, he became UP chief minister for the first time in 1989 and continued till 1991 and then founded the Samajwadi Party in 1992. He got a second chance as UP chief minister from 1993-95 and also held the post from 2003 to 2007. 23. Sharad Pawar: He is the founder president of Nationalist Congress Party which he set up after quitting the Congress. He is presently the Agriculture minister at the Centre. It was Pawar who changed the face of his bailiwick Baramati, by setting up colleges, factories and hospitals. 24. BS Yeddyurappa: He was the 19th Chief Minister of Karnataka. He was the first person from the BJP to become the Chief Minister of a South Indian state. He left BJP in 2012 and formed his own party- Karnataka Janata Paksha, which fared poorly in the assembly elections.25. Omar Abdullah: Omar Abdullah is the scion of Kashmir's prominent political family, the Abdullah family. He became the 11th and the youngest Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, after forming a government in coalition with the Congress on 5 January 2009. A good administrator, an orator and a popular celeb on the social media, Omar has striven to change the face of governance in Kashmir valley.26. Naveen Jindal: He is a politician representing the Kurukshetra Lok Sabha constituency in Haryana. He is the Chairman of Jindal Steel and Power Limited which is part of the $17 billion diversified O.P. Jindal Group founded by his late industrialist father. 27. Pranab Mukherjee: He is the 13th and current President of India, in office since July 2012. In a political career spanning six decades, Mukherjee was a senior leader of the Indian National Congress and occupied several ministerial portfolios at the Centre. Prior to his election as President, Mukherjee was Finance Minister from 2009 to 2012, and the Congress party's top troubleshooter.
