Take a look at the leaders who made headlines and went viral in 2025:
PM Modi: India will identify, track and punish…Prime Minister Narendra Modi remained one of the most followed political figures globally in 2025. One of the year’s most talked-about moments had come after a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, where 26 people, most of them tourists, had been killed by armed terrorists.
Soon after the attack, Modi addressed a rally in Bihar’s Madhubani district during the election season. Known for speaking in Hindi even at international forums, the Prime Minister made a rare switch to English to ensure that his message reached a global audience.
“Today, from the soil of Bihar, I say to the whole world, India will identify, track and punish every terrorist and their backers. We will pursue them to the ends of the Earth,” Modi had said.
#WATCH | Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly criticised the Pahalgam terror attack while addressing a public meeting in Bihar’s Madhubani
He says, “Today, on the soil of Bihar, I say to the whole world, India will identify, trace and punish every terrorist and their backers.… pic.twitter.com/216kBwOryv— ANI (@ANI) April 24, 2025
The language shift drew attention online. Shortly afterwards, India carried out Operation Sindoor, a swift military response in May 2025 targeting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Zohran Mamdani’s ‘tryst with destiny’
Zohran Kwame Mamdani made history by becoming the first Indian-origin and first Muslim Mayor of New York City (NYC).The 34-year-old Democratic Socialist is set to be sworn in on January 1, 2026, succeeding Eric Adams.
Before the election result, Mamdani had already drawn attention for his Reel-based campaign for the New York City mayoral polls. After his victory, his speech on November 4 went viral across platforms.
Invoking Jawaharlal Nehru’s “Tryst with Destiny” speech, Mamdani said, “A moment comes, but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new… Tonight, we have stepped out from the old into the new.”
He also referenced American socialist leader Eugene Debs, saying he could “see the dawn of a better day for humanity”. His meeting with Donald Trump had further kept him in the headlines.
Deepender Hooda’s Mc’Donald’ remarks
In Parliament, some debates stand out not for statistics or legislation, but for unexpected references. Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda delivered two such speeches, separated by more than a decade, but linked by one recurring name: McDonald’s.
During a debate related to Operation Sindoor in Parliament monsoon session, Hooda had reacted sharply to former US President Donald Trump’s repeated claims over the India–Pakistan ceasefire mediation.
“Either silence Donald, shut Donald’s mouth, or shut down McDonald’s in India,” Hooda had said during the debate.
When INDI Alliance MPs mocked the #OperationSindoor. A thread:
Deependra Singh Hooda (Congress):“Shut up Donald, ban McDonald in India.”
Seriously? ???????? pic.twitter.com/tQmRFDfLDn
— BJP (@BJP4India) July 28, 2025
The clips of the remark soon surfaced online. It also revived an earlier speech from 2012, when Hooda had taken a very different position. At that time, he had urged McDonald’s to source potatoes from Haryana, and claimed that farmers in the state could grow “24-inch potatoes” for the company’s fries.
Rekha Gupta’s AQI definition
After a 25-year wait, the BJP returned to power in Delhi. While attention focused on senior leaders, the party named Rekha Gupta, a first-time MLA, as Chief Minister. The decision had set the tone for a woman leading the national capital.
Gupta continued to make headlines through the year, often due to viral slips of the tongue and her unconventional handling of Delhi’s air pollution crisis. She was found making surprising statements around the pollution crisis.
One such moment also gained traction when football star Lionel Messi arrived in the city. During an event, the crowd reportedly broke into chants of “AQI, AQI”. Several such clips of the incident went viral on social media.
Nitish Kumar’s viral hijab row
Nitish Kumar led the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to a landslide victory in the Bihar Assembly elections 2025. With the win, he became the Chief Minister of Bihar for a record tenth time, making him the longest-serving Chief Minister in the state’s history, with a combined tenure of around two decades.
However, towards the end of the year, Kumar found himself at the centre of a national controversy. Earlier this month, during an event at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat, known as ‘Samvad’, he distributed appointment letters to over 1,000 AYUSH doctors.
During the event, Kumar approached Dr Nusrat Parveen, a newly recruited Muslim doctor, questioned her veil by asking, “What is this?”, and then pulled it down to reveal her face. A video of the incident, which went viral, triggered widespread criticism and debate across the country.
Bihar CM Nitish Kumar pulled the veil of a woman while distributing appointment letters to Ayush practitioners. Even Deputy CM tried to stop him. He wouldn’t have done this if he was in his sense. There are several such videos of him behaving awkwardly. pic.twitter.com/M3za0FkQFe
— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) December 15, 2025
