LG Sinha continues to be among enviable ‘IE 100’; figures at 53rd slot

Jammu, Feb 29:  Notwithstanding tough competition in the election year, the Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has managed to retain his slot in the coveted ‘IE 100’ list of prominent national English daily ‘Indian Express.’

This is for the fourth consecutive time that LG Sinha has figured in this prestigious list of “Most Powerful Indians”, though this time at number 53.

In 2023, he had figured at number 24, with an impressive improvement in ranking from 71 slot in 2022.

The Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah continued to retain top two positions respectively this year also. However, the Minister for External Affairs S Jaishankar, who was number three in 2023, figured at number five in 2024; going down by two places, paving way for RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and the Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud at third and fourth slots respectively in the list.

Explaining the rationale as to why 64-year-old LG Sinha figured among top 100 “Most Powerful persons of India”, the national daily stated, “Manoj Sinha has been at the helm in J&K for over three years now. Over the past year, he has enhanced public engagement, sometimes addressing multiple events the same day. Targeted killings, protests by Kashmiri Pandits and the Gujjar/Bakerwal communities have been challenges for him in the absence of elected leaders in Jammu and Kashmir. Directed by the Centre, he is driving the infrastructure push in the region. The tourism group meeting of the G20 in Srinagar was a new feather in his cap.”

Analysing persona of LG Sinha, perceived to be a hard-task administrator with enviable fighting spirit against all odds, Indian Express described his (Sinha’s) “Power Punch” as his focus on effective administration during his tenure through his direct connect with the public.

“His fortnightly feature, the “LG Mulaqat”, is a hit. The entire administration meets via video-conferencing and complaints submitted via the LG’s grievance cell are taken up for resolution. Given the lack of direct representation in the state, in terms of elected leaders, many people have taken the LG grievance cell route. He also meets a wide range of people in his offices in both Srinagar and Jammu,” the national daily explained.

Figuring “next test” for the Lieutenant Governor, the Indian Express mentioned that as the Supreme Court had set a September deadline for Assembly elections in J&K, “helping start the political process and bridging local mistrust would be his next challenge.”

The daily also referred to his wide-range social media appeal, in the form of “social media quotient---  X: @manojsinha_ 660.7K followers.”

In 2021, the Lieutenant Governor had secured 25th place in this list.

Among top 10 “Most Powerful Persons of India”, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. BJP president JP Nadda and business tycoon Gautam Adani figured at number 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 slots in the list respectively.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is at number 16. He was at number 15 in the 2023 list.