New Delhi: In the United States, Donald Trump returned as President, proving many political pundits wrong. On screen, Pushpa made a comeback with Part 2, breaking all box office records with earnings of over Rs 1,700 crore and counting. In the year 2024, similarly, several political comebacks proved again that an experienced politician can never be ignored. When he was pushed against the wall, he rose like a phoenix, and set a new tone in Indian politics.
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) looked 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, which were enough to keep him behind bars for a long time.
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 center stage as a kingmaker influencing the formation of the NDA government at the Centre.
TDP won 135 out of 175 seats in Andhra Pradesh, while former CM Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSRCP could win only 21 seats.
TDP’s scope of success also increased Lok Sabha In the election it won 16 out of 25 seats while YSRCP won only 4 seats.
Despite leaving the NDA alliance for the Congress-led UPA in 2019, Naidu rejoined the BJP-led alliance shortly before the 2024 elections. His arrest by the YSRCP government on September 9 in the Skill Development Corporation scam case, followed by imprisonment in Rajamahendravaram Central Jail, aroused public sympathy.
Devendra Fadnavis
In 2019, Devendra Fadnavis famously said: “Mera pani uttarta dekh mere kinare pe ghar mat basa lena. Main samandar hoon laut kar wapas aunga (Look at my tide receding, don’t build your house on my shores. I am the sea) , I am) ‘will return)’
And what a comeback!
Fadnavis, popularly known as “Deva Bhau”, took oath Maharashtra Chief Minister this year. BJPWhich had earlier agreed to make Eknath Shinde the CM in 2022 after Shinde’s separation. Shiv SenaAfter the elections, once again Fadnavis was fielded.
This came after the party’s impressive victory in the Maharashtra Assembly elections with 132 seats out of 288.
Fadnavis was promoted just five months after he offered to resign from the post of deputy CM, taking full responsibility for the BJP’s poor performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The BJP had seen a sharp decline in its number of Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, from 23 in 2019 to only 9 in 2024. Instead, he was asked by the central leadership of the BJP to take charge of the election preparations while it was in the government.
After this, Fadnavis made initial intervention which proved important. He also reached out to the RSS for help in countering the MVA’s narrative on caste and community, which ultimately helped Mahayuti win the elections.
Omar Abdullah
For a politician who had once expressed reluctance to contest another assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah’s result day on October 8 began with anticipation of a crucial verdict. “7 days of counting completed. Last time it didn’t go well for me personally. Inshallah it will be better this time,” he shared on X at 9.24am, posting a selfie in a white polo against a natural backdrop. By 11.48 pm, his confidence had clearly returned, a stark contrast to his recent Baramulla Lok Sabha defeat.
At the age of 54, Omar Abdullah returned to the post of Chief Minister after 15 years of becoming the youngest CM of the state. As the grandson of Sheikh Abdullah and son of Farooq Abdullah, 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… That couldn’t be further from the truth… You Enemies inherit what you haven’t caused by your actions…I found that people disliked me, but I didn’t know who I was.”
In the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections, the first in a decade after the removal of special status (Article 370), his Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) won 42 out of 90 seats and its ally Congress won just four seats.
His recent political resurgence is particularly noteworthy after his defeat in the Baramulla Lok Sabha elections a few months ago.
Akhilesh Yadav
The biggest shock of this year’s Lok Sabha elections was the re-emergence of Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav.
The BJP suffered a major setback in Uttar Pradesh during the Lok Sabha elections, where the SP under the leadership of Akhilesh Yadav was leading the political transition. The BJP’s performance in this crucial state with 80 Lok Sabha constituencies dropped significantly from 62 seats in 2019 to 33 seats.
Akhilesh Yadav’s party demonstrated remarkable growth and became the dominant political force in the state with 37 constituencies, growing from just five seats in 2019. India Bloc collectively secured 43 seats. This result came despite an intense campaign by the BJP focusing on the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya.
Akhilesh deliberately broadened the socialist base by including representatives of diverse backward communities. The SP allotted only six tickets to Yadav candidates in the Lok Sabha elections, while increasing representation for smaller OBC groups and Dalit subgroups, including Jatavs, who were looking for alternatives beyond a weak Mayawati and an unreliable BJP.
However, the saffron party somewhat mitigated the losses in the Uttar Pradesh by-elections held in November. BJP managed to capture six out of the total nine seats, while Akhilesh’s SP got only two seats.
Ajit Pawar
Ajit Pawar, who broke ties with his uncle Sharad Pawar and kept the parent NCP intact in Maharashtra, saw some ups and downs in the year 2024. But by the end of the year, he managed to overcome the political tsunami and maintain his hold. Deputy CM’s chair.
In the Lok Sabha elections, the NCP was allotted only five seats within the 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 Baramati competition also failed miserably.
But as the assembly elections approached, Sharad Pawar played a backfire by fielding Ajit’s nephew against him and created another prestige battle. However, this gamble did not succeed.
The Ajit-led NCP faction significantly improved its performance, securing 41 MLAs by leading by just six assembly constituencies in the Lok Sabha results. In a direct confrontation with the candidates supported by the senior Pawar, Ajit’s group emerged victorious in 27 cases, while the latter managed to win only 7 such contests. Ajit also established a strong presence in Western Maharashtra (22 seats), Marathwada (10) and Vidarbha (5) regions.
Ajit and his seasoned political allies, who joined him during the NCP split in 2023, demonstrated strategic acumen. He campaigned consistently in the Lok Sabha elections, learning from his mistakes, especially in rural areas. They also acknowledged the significant impact of the Ladki Bahin scheme, even including pink, traditionally associated with femininity, as their campaign colour.
Mixed situation for Rahul Gandhi
In what must have been a year for Rahul Gandhi, the year ended in a 1-1 draw for the Congress leader as the party failed to capitalize on the gains made in the first half of the year.
In the Lok Sabha elections, Congress won 99 seats and the opposition India faction managed to get 240 seats. With new strength, Rahul Gandhi was also elected the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha.
This was in June, after which the party failed to maintain the momentum and suffered major setbacks in the Haryana and Maharashtra by-elections.
Despite anti-incumbency wave in Haryana elections, BJP returned to power for the third consecutive time. The voters gave a clear defeat to the Congress, whose internal strife had come to the fore. BJP won majority with 48 seats out of 90 while Congress won 37 seats.
In Maharashtra, since Congress got the biggest ticket in MVA, it failed to impress. The party was successful in securing 16 seats out of 288 while BJP alone secured 132 seats.
