WEST BENGAL:
Bratya Basu
Theatre personality-turned-Education Minister, Bratya Basu has been responsible for a major revamp of the stagnant education system. From initiating plans for revival of the glory of Presidency University to introducing a ‘no-detention policy’ till Class VIII, Basu has been one of the most active ministers in the state Cabinet. Basu has made it clear that he is in a no-nonsense mood by initiating a probe against Sabyasachi Sengupta, Vice-Chancellor of the West Bengal University of Technology, on grounds of financial irregularities and favouritism. Basu has also held his ground by refusing to postpone one of the examinations in the Class X Madhyamik Board Examination. It clashes with the all-India industrial strike backed by the Centre of Indian Trade Unions on February 28. Instead he has promised safe transportation to students, showing that the government cannot be bullied into changing dates. Amid all these actions, Basu continues to devote time to his first love, acting.
Runners Up:
Partha Chatterjee: The Industries and Commerce Minister deserves a pat on his back for his efforts to attract investments in the state. The fact that he holds five portfolios speaks of his stature in the Cabinet.
Deepa Dasmunsi: Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi’s wife and Congress MP from Raiganj stood out for standing her ground and not siding with the Trinamool Congress during the May Assembly polls despite her party’s diktats.
People who didn’t matter:
Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee: The former chief minister’s downward ride started the time he lost the Jadavpur constituency to his one-time chief secretary Manish Gupta and his party relinquished power to Mamata Banerjee’s TMC after 34 years in power. Citing ill-health, Bhattacharjee now often avoids the media.
Amit Mitra: India Inc was abuzz when former FICCI Secretary General became the Finance Minister, but Mitra has been a disappointment as a politician. His sparring with former finance minister Asim Dasgupta hasn’t gone down well.
Manas Bhunia: The former state Congress president and the Micro and Small-scale Enterprises and Textiles Minister hasn’t been able to make any impact in the Mamata Banerjee Cabinet nor gather any kind of mileage for the Congress.
Flops of the year:
Madan Mitra: The Sports Minister’s stint was marred by very poor turnout of spectators during the recent India-West Indies match at the Eden Gardens, attracting criticism from cricket experts.
Manish Gupta: The state Planning and Power Minister hasn’t been able to convince Mamata Banerjee to hike electricity tariff, leading the state to face its worse power crises till date.
ODISHA:
Naveen Patnaik
Faced with a volley of scams, the year started on a wrong note for the Chief Minister and his party, but Naveen did not wince once. By the end of the year, he had weathered everything and emerged stronger than before. The victory in the Umerkote bypoll in November-end despite the odds being stacked against his party proved once again that Naveen still remains the darling of the masses. The Biju Janata Dal also clinched comprehensive victory in the sensitive Kendrapara municipality election. Though Naveen did not campaign for the urban body poll, he was the issue before the electorate. While the Congress and BJP went hammer and tong about scams, the BJD banked on ‘good governance’ slogan. The Opposition campaign did not cut much ice with voters.
Runners Up:
Pyari Mohan Mohapatra: BJD’s chief strategist and Rajya Sabha Member remained the force of the party. He pulled off a convincing victory for Subash Gond in the bypoll to the Umerkote Assembly Constituency. He was in the firing line from the BJD dissident Damodar Rout, describing him as a parallel power centre, but keeping everything aside he led from the front and ensured victory in Umerkote.
R Vineel Krishna:
Odisha IAS officer, R Vineel Krishna shot to limelight when Maoists abducted him in February. After spending 10 days in captivity, he returned to a hero’s welcome. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh spoke in praise of the people-friendly officer’s efforts at a public meeting.
People who didn't matter:
Damodar Rout: A thorn in the flesh for BJD’s chief strategist Pyari Mohan Mohapatra, he was stripped of his ministership at the first instance of controversy. The veteran stepped up his tirade against Mohapatra and even floated the “Biju Bichar Manch”. He received no support whatsoever.
Jual Oram: Entrusted with the great responsibility of resurrecting BJP in Odisha, Oram failed miserably. Successive electoral defeats and inability to carry the party along has now put his position as the State BJP chief in jeopardy. So much so that a revolt within the party is brewing for his ouster.
MAHARASHTRA:
Sharad Pawar
The 71-year-old seasoned politician was in the spotlight for a variety of reasons in 2011. The Union Agricultural Minister was lambasted for failing to control food inflation. Anna Hazare publicly labelled him as corrupt and slammed him for being on the Lokpal parliamentary panel. Pawar was even slapped in public by a disgruntled Sikh. However, his NCP and partner Congress performed well in the recent Maharashtra civic polls, including in Hazare’s Ahmednagar district. He is still a force in Indian cricket officialdom. His pressure on the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests to give permission to the Lavasa project came through.
Runner Up:
Raj Thackeray: Love him or hate him, but you cannot ignore him. What makes him qualify as runner-up is his ability to be in the limelight, be it targeting the Bachchan family, blaming north Indians for the blasts in the state to poking fun on his estranged cousin Uddhav.
Prithviraj Chavan: With no grassroots experience, and no backing to boot besides his ‘clean’ image, not many gave the Maharashtra Chief Minister more than a year in the state. But Chavan just completed a year in office riding on clean and transparent governance, and more than everything, he has done it on his own terms.
People who didn’t matter:
Uddhav Thackeray:
He is fighting hard to save the empire that he inherited. His party, the Shiv Sena, has been coming up woefully short in raising issues concerning the common man.
Gopinath Munde: After being elevated to Parliament, Munde has been sulking over not being involved in the state politics. His threatening to quit didn’t go down well within the BJP.
Narayan Rane: The former CM today is just an Industry Minister and in the recent civic elections, he was not even able to get his closest supporters elected in his home turf of Konkan.
MADHYA PRADESH:
Shivraj Singh Chauhan: The Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, currently serving his second term, has never been short on welfare policies. The recent Beti Bachao Abhiyan (save the girl child) is one such policy. In his efforts to promote the policy, the Chief Minister toured every district, creating awareness on the issue of saving the lives of girl child. On the political front, Chauhan has effectively used the in-fighting in the state Congress to the benefit of his party. After Narender Modi of Gujarat and Raman Singh of Chhattisgarh, Chauhan has emerged as one of the BJP poster-boys from the states. Recently he asked the Centre to boycott the London Olympics over the issue of sponsorship by a US company linked to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy.
People who didn’t matter:
Kantilal Bhuria: The Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee President has miserably failed to manage the different warring factions within the party. Supporters of former Union minister of state Arun Yadav, MPs Premchand Guddu and Sajjan Singh Verma, and senior leader Mahesh Joshi feel ignored in the constitution of the new PCC body. The disgruntled leaders have decided to register their protest against the state Congress president.
NORTH EAST:
Tarun Gogoi
In 2011, the Assam Chief Minister led the Congress Party to victory for a third consecutive term in the state. The party won absolute majority after a hiatus of 20 years and totally decimated the combined force of Assam Gana Parishad and the BJP. Gogoi has succeeded in maintaining law and order in the state, as the number of terror strikes dwindled during his rule. He has also succeeded in fastening the peace process with different insurgent groups from the state like the United Liberation Front of Assam.
Runner Up:
Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma: The most dynamic member of the Congress Cabinet in Assam, Himanta is hailed for his pioneering welfare measures in the field of health and education. He is best known for implementing the National Rural Health Mission and on-call 24-hour emergency ambulance service. In his additional role as Education Minister, he introduced a slew of plans this year to revamp the state’s education system.
BIHAR:
Sushil Kumar
The Rs 6,000 earning computer operator for the rural employment scheme from Motihari, created history by winning the Kaun Banega Crorepati jackpot of Rs 5,00,00000. Sushil Kumar’s story looks straight out of a movie plot. A man who comes from a very humble background, life has taken a complete ‘U’ turn for him. Kumar desires to construct a big house, help his brothers set up a business and improve his overall lifestyle from the prize money. He might also become the face of the same rural scheme where he was working as a Grade III employee.
Runner up:
Shivdeep Waman Lande: He is the IPS officer who stole the hearts of Patnaites. The engineering graduate who quit the Indian Revenue Service (IRS) to join the IPS in 2006, during his 10-month stint as SP (City), was known for his proactive policing. Lande donates 60 to 70 per cent of his salary to Yuvak Sangathan, an organisation he founded in his home district of Akola in Maharashtra. It organises mass marriages of poor girls and runs coaching classes.