Indian Express Power List 2015: No. 51-60

NEW ON THE LIST

WHY

Arguably India’s most powerful editor and the most networked. He had some of India’s most powerful in attendance at the 21st anniversary celebration of his Aap ki Adalat show in December 2014.

POWER PUNCH

His India TV was the first national channel to land an hour-long interview with Narendra Modi, then BJP’s PM candidate.

WHAT NEXT

In a TRP-fuelled race for eyeballs, India TV will have to work hard to get ahead of the leading players.

BY THE WAY: He was an ABVP activist and studied at Shri Ram College of Commerce in Delhi.

Rank: 52 | N Srinivasan, 70 | ICC chairman

2014: Rank 30

WHY

Despite everything seemingly going wrong for him — the IPL probe and the SC rap for conflict of interest — he continues to be Indian cricket’s most powerful man with the backing of most state associations.

POWER PUNCH

In January, days after the SC ordered he cannot run for BCCI president, Srinivasan presided over the board’s working committee meeting.

WHAT NEXT

With the SC asking him to choose between CSK and BCCI, he will have to find ways to get around the ‘conflict of interest’ hurdle.

BY THE WAY: He is an avid fan of golf legend Jack Nicklaus.

Rank: 53 | Gen Dalbir Singh (60) | Chief of the Army Staff

2014: Rank 71

WHY

As Army chief at a time of frequent firing and misadventures along India’s borders with Pakistan and China, he has to sound tough, yet not alarmist.

POWER PUNCH

On Day 1 of assuming his duties, Singh had warned Pakistan that India’s response to any provocation would be “more than adequate, intense and immediate.”

WHAT NEXT

With “active borders”, Singh will have to respond tactfully.

BY THE WAY: A few months ago, while addressing soldiers of 18 Cavalry, Singh touched the feet of his father, a JCO from the same unit.

Rank: 54 | Asaduddin Owaisi, 45 | MIM president

NEW ON THE LIST

WHY

Emboldened by its good showing in the Telangana and Maharashtra Assembly elections, the Hyderabad-based party is positioning itself as the counter to the BJP’s pro-Hindu agenda, openly advocating Muslim identity politics.

POWER PUNCH

The two seats it won in Maharashtra, its first outside Andhra Pradesh, pitchforked it into the league of parties to watch out for.

WHAT NEXT

Owaisi has openly talked about making a foray into UP and Bengal.

BY THE WAY: In Hyderabad, he sometimes rides his motorcycle to the party office.

Rank: 55 | Lalu Prasad (67) | RJD chief

2014: Rank 36

WHY

Because despite being considerably weakened after a string of electoral reverses, any anti-BJP coalition in the state has to depend on him.

POWER PUNCH

RJD got 18-20 per cent votes in the 2010 Assembly polls and 2014 Lok Sabha elections, signalling that Lalu’s Muslim-Yadav support base remains mostly intact.

WHAT NEXT

Will remain a key figure in any behind-the-scenes negotiation leading up to 2015 polls.

BY THE WAY: He loves cooking, especially fish, but surprised many when he gave up non-veg food.

Rank: 56 | Kumar Mangalam Birla (47) | Chairman, Aditya Birla Group

2014: Rank 56

WHY

Birla’s companies cut across sectors such as chemicals, mining, retail, telecom and financial services. The Aditya Birla Group-led Idea Cellular is the third largest telecom company in the country.

POWER PUNCH

When the RBI rejected an earlier application for a banking licence, the Group applied to the RBI for a payments bank licence in partnership with Idea Cellular.

WHAT NEXT

He will hope to clear his name of allegations in the coal block scam.

BY THE WAY: He likes shooting and reading management books.

Rank: 57 | Anil Ambani (55) | Chairman of Reliance ADA Group

2014: Rank 38

WHY

Despite a sharp drop in the market capitalisation of his group companies, he inked a few big deals last year, like the sale of his Big Cinemas.

POWER PUNCH

In December 2014, group firm Reliance Capital tied up with Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank to collaborate on various businesses.

WHAT NEXT

The ADAG group faces the uphill task of having to pare its debt of around Rs 1 lakh crore.

BY THE WAY: His nutritionist is Rujuta Diwekar, known for helping Kareena Kapoor attain size zero.

Rank: 58 | Uday Shankar (52) | Star India CEO

2014: Rank 87

WHY

As the man who heads the largest broadcast network of 34 channels, Shankar has emerged as the undisputed leader that the entire industry looks up to for direction.

POWER PUNCH

He scooped all big-ticket cricket events available in the market, investing close to $4.5 billion in the sport.

WHAT NEXT

Shankar has chosen sports as the vehicle for his company’s growth.

BY THE WAY: He began his career as a political correspondent with The Times of India in Bihar.

Rank: 59 | Prashant Bhushan (58) | Activist-lawyer, AAP co-founder

NEW ON THE LIST

WHY

Bhushan has been spearheading the fight against corruption.

POWER PUNCH

The visitors’ logbook of then CBI chief Ranjit Sinha that he handed to the court led to Sinha being dropped from the 2G probe.

WHAT NEXT

It will be interesting to see whether or not, and how, the AAP government in Delhi utilises Bhushan’s acumen.

BY THE WAY: Collects antiques and 19th-century paintings.

Rank: 60 | Samir Jain (59) | Vineet Jain (47) | Vice Chairman/MD, BCCL

2014: Rank 51

WHY

BCCL continues to be the largest and most diversified media conglomerate in the country.

POWER PUNCH

In 2014, BCCL saw new launches in partnership with leading global digital brands such as Huffington Post.

WHAT NEXT

Digital and regional markets remain the two big goals.

BY THE WAY: Vineet Jain joined BCCL’s marketing dept in 1986.