India's most hated politicians

An opinion poll conducted by India Today to find out who are India's hated politicians has revealed some interesting results.

Recent attacks on Indian political leaders have exposed the growing discontent among the masses, who are fed up of rising prices and corruption.

Head of the Nationalist Congress Party, Sharad Pawar, has been agriculture minister for the past seven years and is being blamed for food inflation.

He is the latest Indian politician to be attacked by a disgruntled youth, who accused him of corruption and held him responsible for price rise.

Pawar has also faced several allegations of corruption and has been accused of being incapable of handling the hike in prices of agricultural produce since he took over as Agriculture minister.

The controversial Lavasa project near Pune is considered to be the dream project of the Maratha strongman. Since the last five years, Sharad Pawar has been the strongest advocate of the project.   

Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar declared assets worth Rs12 crore, but there is a wide perception that his riches far exceed the stated amount.

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Since Dinesh Trivedi took charge as minister for Railways there have been five railway accidents, with 20 deaths and over hundred injured passengers. He is yet to announce any major reforms.

The Trinamool Congress leader is close to TMC chief Mamata Banerjee and is her point man in New Delhi.

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The prime minister of the country is considered by many as weak and slow in action. Though he has a clean image, his government has been rocked by one scandal after another.

Another challenge the economist prime minister faces is inflation; his government has not been able to control inflation.

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According to the India Today poll, young urban India sees the Bharatiya Janata Party patriarch as "highly toxic". His ambition of being prime minister is seen by many as misplaced.

Advani, who is known to go on yatras, has so far taken 6 tours across the length and breadth of the country. His latest yatra, The Jan Chetna Yatra was launched to mobilise public opinion against corruption in the United Progressive Alliance government. The youth of India have never really been able to identify with him.

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The Bharatiya Janata Party president is seen as an ineffective leader. Nitin Gadkari became the BJP's youngest-ever president. He was entrusted with the responsibility to lead the party at a time when the Congress was playing the Rahul Gandhi card, projecting the young leader as the future prime minister and posing a serious challenge to the BJP on the leadership front.

But his harsh language against leaders of other parties has not found resonance with many. Also, he continues to be overshadowed by BJP patriarch L K Advani.

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The Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader is disliked by young India for being "anti reform". He is also seen as the inflexible face of the left.

Karat called United Progressive Alliance's decision to go ahead with the nuclear deal despite Left's opposition a "betrayal". In the 2009 elections, under his watch, the CPI(M)'s Lok Sabha tally fell from 44 to 16.

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Head of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Karunanidhi's party members have been deeply embroiled in the 2G scam. The party chief too had been arrested on charges of corruption in 2001.

The DMK patriarch had announced that freebies will be distributed as long as poverty existed in the state. His two sons battle for control of the party.

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The chief minister of Tamil Nadu's vendetta politics has not gone down with many. Her first term as chief minister resulted in several legal actions being brought against her, mainly involving charges of embezzlement and monetary fraud.

Jayalalithaa has been charged with accumulation of wealth worth Rs 66 crore disproportionate to her known sources of income when she was the chief minister between 1991 and 1996.

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With opposition parties baying for his blood and questioning his role in the 2G scam, his reformist image has taken a beating.

Many believe that as finance minister he was aware of then telecom minister A Raja's wrongdoings.

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The chief minister of Gujarat is seen as being divisive. His alleged involvement in the 2002 Gujarat riots has remained a blot that he has not been able to erase in spite of all the development work he has brought about in Gujarat.  

Narendra Modi continues to be seen as a Hindu hardliner and his political appeal is limited to Hindutva pockets.

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Urban youth find the Congress president too controlling. Her act of sacrificing the prime minister's post in 2004 has lost its appeal among the masses, as she is believed to be remote controlling the government.

Many accuse her of running the government but not accepting responsibility when things go wrong.

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Rising fuel prices have made many in India to dislike petroleum minister Jaipal Reddy, even though he does not take the decision to raise fuel prices.

His stand on Telangana remains unclear at a time when people in Andhra Pradesh are fighting for or against the creation of a new state.

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