The new Mr India

Congress scion Rahul Gandhi is 'Newsmaker of the Year' in the just released Yahoo! India Year in Review 2009. He beat the likes of Manmohan Singh and Lalit Modi to the top.

Congress scion Rahul Gandhi is 'Newsmaker of the Year' in the just released Yahoo! India Year in Review 2009. He beat the likes of Manmohan Singh and Lalit Modi to the top.

He worked wonders for his party’s image in the elections, and made millions of women skip a heartbeat while on the campaign trail. No surprise then, that Congress scion Rahul Gandhi is 'Newsmaker of the Year' in the just released Yahoo! India Year in Review 2009.

He beat the likes of actress Katrina Kaif and IPL Chairman Lalit Modi who are at number two and three respectively.
The list declares that Gandhi, who has been called Mr India by Yahoo!, “single-handedly enthused India and that alone is no mean task.”
Katrina Kaif, who took the title ‘Knock Out’ in the list, appears to have benefitted from the controversies in her personal life. “Her relationship with Salman Khan and her newfound chemistry with co-actor Ranbir Kapoor, ensures that her private life is always in the spotlight,” the report says.
‘Music Maker’ and Oscar winner AR Rahman has notched the fourth spot, while ‘Drama Queen’ Rakhi Sawant is at number five, owing to her outrageous antics. “There is no difference between me and Rahul Gandhi — hum dono hi desh ki seva karte hain,” said Rakhi.

Youth in the Capital had mixed reactions to who made the list. “Rahul Gandhi has redefined politics for youngsters. He deserves the top spot,” says MA student Kritika Sharma. “Katrina Kaif topping the likes of Rahman and Manmohan Singh (who is at the eighth spot) is surprising,” says medical student Abhilekh Srivastava.

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Yahoo’s! Top Ten Controversies of 2009 include the frisking of former president Dr Abdul Kalam by staff of an international airline; actor Shah Rukh Khan’s detention at a US airport; and the Pink Chaddi campaign launched in response to an attack on women in a Mangalore pub.
The animated characters Zoozoos — the mascots for a mobile service provider’s ad campaign — featured as one of the top ‘Events of the Year’ for “striking a chord with the audience and garnering over 3 lakh fans just on Facebook”.
Also on the event of the year list was the launch of the world’s cheapest car, Tata Nano, and the landmark judgment by the Delhi High Court which decriminalised gay sex between consenting adults.