The political top 10

She is silent and ever more invisible. He is present but always inaudible. In the middle of the power troika is a veteran politician asked to extinguish raging fires. These are the men and woman who determine the future and fortunes of 1.2 billion people. A Government virtually at the mercy of a mercurial ally in West Bengal who forces the once powerful Congress party to bend to her populist will, and tries to offset her influence by seeking favour from a recently triumphant strongman in Uttar Pradesh. As India slips at the Centre, regional leaders exercise greater control, powering their own agendas and philosophies. Watch them carefully through the year. Among them may well be the future prime minister of the country, and no, it's not the one anointed by the grand old party.