NEW DELHI: In the United States, Donald Trump returned as president proving several political pundits wrong. On screens, Pushpa returned with Part 2, breaking all the box office records with over Rs 1,700 crore collection and counting. The year 2024, similarly, saw several political comebacks proving yet again that a seasoned politician can never be written off.When pushed against the wall, they rose like a phoenix, setting a fresh tone in Indian politics.
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Here’s a look at all the sensational political comebacks in 2024:
Chandrababu Naidu
Last year, when Chandrababu Naidu went to jail, the 74-year-old politician and his Telugu Desam Party (TDP) appeared to be in dire straits.
Prospects were looking bleak when he was sent to jail for 52 days as an accused with multiple cases against him, enough to keep him behind bars for long.
In a remarkable political resurgence, Naidu achieved significant success in 2024. He not only emerged as a king in the Andhra Pradesh assembly elections but also took the center stage as a kingmaker influencing the NDA government formation at the Centre.
The TDP swept 135 of 175 seats in Andhra Pradesh while former CM Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSRCP could win only 21 seats.
The TDP’s success also extended to the Lok Sabha elections where it won 16 of 25 seats while the YSRCP won only 4 seats.
Despite leaving the NDA alliance for the Congress-led UPA in 2019, Naidu rejoined the BJP-led coalition shortly before the 2024 elections. His arrest on September 9 in the Skill Development Corporation Scam case by the YSRCP government, followed by his imprisonment in Rajamahendravaram central jail, generated public sympathy.
Devendra Fadnavis
In 2019, Devendra Fadnavis famously said: “Mera paani utarta dekh mere kinare pe ghar mat basa lena. Main samandar hun laut kar wapis aaunga (Watch my tide recede, don’t build your house on my shores. I am the ocean, I’ll return).”
And what a comeback!
Fadnavis, popularly known as “Deva Bhau”, took oath as Maharashtra chief minister this year. The BJP, which had previously agreed to make Eknath Shinde the CM in 2022 after Shinde split from Shiv Sena, fielded Fadnavis once again after the elections.
This came after the party’s impressive win in Maharashtra assembly polls with 132 of 288 seats.
Fadnavis was promoted just five months after he offered to resign from his position as deputy CM, taking full responsibility for the BJP’s poor showing in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The BJP had seen a massive drop in its Lok Sabha seat count in Maharashtra, from 23 in 2019 to only 9 in 2024. Instead, he was asked by the BJP’s central leadership to take charge of poll preparations while staying in government.
After this, Fadnavis made an early intervention that turned out to be critical. He also reached out to the RSS seeking its help in countering MVA’s narrative on caste and community which eventually helped Mahayuti win the election.
Omar Abdullah
For a politician who once expressed reluctance to contest another assembly election in J&K, Omar Abdullah’s result day on October 8 began with anticipation of a crucial verdict. “Counting day 7K done. Last time around it didn’t end well for me personally. InshaAllah this time around it will be better,” he shared on X at 9.24am, posting a selfie in a white polo against a natural backdrop. By 11.48am, his confidence had visibly returned, contrasting with his recent Baramulla Lok Sabha defeat.
At 54, Omar Abdullah returned to the chief minister’s position, 15 years after becoming the state’s youngest CM. As Sheikh Abdullah’s grandson and Farooq Abdullah’s son, Omar has faced significant expectations. In a 2023 YouTube video, he reflected, “I think a lot of people believe that because you come from a political family, everything is a bed of roses…It couldn’t be further from the truth…You inherit enemies that you haven’t made through your own actions…I found people disliked me but had no idea who I was.”
In the J&K assembly elections, the first in a decade after revocation of the special status (Article 370), his Jammu & Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) won 42 of 90 seats and its ally Congress a mere four seats.
His recent political resurgence is particularly notable following his defeat in the Baramulla Lok Sabha elections just a few months ago.
Akhilesh Yadav
The biggest stunner of this year’s Lok Sabha elections was the resurgence of Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav.
The BJP faced a significant setback in Uttar Pradesh during the Lok Sabha elections, with SP under Akhilesh Yadav leading the political transformation. The BJP’s performance in this crucial state, which holds 80 Lok Sabha constituencies, declined substantially from 62 seats in 2019 to 33 seats.
Akhilesh Yadav’s party demonstrated remarkable growth, advancing from just five seats in 2019 to becoming the state’s dominant political force with 37 constituencies. The INDIA bloc collectively secured 43 seats. This outcome materialised despite the BJP’s intensive campaign focusing on the Ram temple construction in Ayodhya.
Akhilesh broadened the Samajwadi base deliberately by incorporating representatives from diverse backward communities. The SP allocated merely six tickets to Yadav candidates in Lok Sabha polls, while increasing representation for smaller OBC groups and Dalit subgroups including Jatavs who were seeking alternatives beyond a weakened Mayawati and an unreliable BJP.
The saffron party, however, neutralised the loss to some extent in Uttar Pradesh bypolls which were held in November. The BJP managed to cling six of a total of 9 seats while Akhilesh’s SP got only two seats.
Ajit Pawar
Ajit Pawar, who broke away from his uncle Sharad Pawar and retained the original NCP in Maharashtra, saw a few lows in the year 2024. But by the end of the year, he managed to sail through the political tsunami and managed to hold onto his deputy CM chair.
In the Lok Sabha elections, the NCP was allotted only five seats within Mahayuti and managed to win only one, finishing last among the six major parties in Maharashtra. Ajit’s decision to field his wife against Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule for the Baramati contest also failed miserably.
But by the time assembly elections approached, Sharad Pawar played reverse Uno by pitching Ajit’s nephew against him, setting up another prestige battle. The gambit, however, didn’t pay off.
The NCP faction led by Ajit significantly improved its performance, moving from just six assembly segment leads in the Lok Sabha results to securing 41 MLAs. In direct confrontations with candidates backed by the senior Pawar, Ajit’s group emerged victorious in 27 instances, while the latter managed to win only 7 such contests. Ajit also established a strong presence across western Maharashtra (22 seats), Marathwada (10) and Vidarbha (5) regions.
Ajit and his experienced political associates, who joined him during the NCP split in 2023, demonstrated strategic acumen. They learned from their Lok Sabha election missteps, conducting a relentless campaign, particularly in rural areas. They also acknowledged the significant impact of Ladki Bahin Yojna, even incorporating pink, traditionally associated with femininity, as their campaign colour.
Mixed bag for Rahul Gandhi
What could have been the year of Rahul Gandhi, ended in 1-1 for the Congress leader as the party failed to capitalise on the gains made in the first half of the year.
In the Lok Sabha elections, Congress won 99 seats and the opposition INDIA bloc managed to secure 240 seats. With the new strength, Rahul Gandhi was also elected the leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha.
This was in June, after which the party failed to carry the momentum and saw major setbacks in Haryana and Maharashtra bypolls.
In the Haryana elections, BJP returned to power for the third consecutive term, despite anti-incumbency. The voters handed out a clear defeat to Congress whose infighting was out in the open. The BJP won the majority with 48 of 90 seats while Congress secured 37 seats.
In Maharashtra, as Congress got the biggest ticket chuck in MVA, it failed to impress. The party managed to get 16 of 288 seats while the BJP alone secured 132 seats.
