At the outset of 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was riding a wave of international acclaim and anticipating an election campaign that looked like such a formality he talked of a thousand-year legacy.
Now, he’s looking back at a year of setbacks — at the ballot box, on the economy, in relations with foreign partners and in India’s own backyard.
Modi’s annus horriblis leaves him on shakier ground going into 2025. Having secured a third term, he now finds himself at the helm of a country whose economy is slowing, with a global image that’s taken a beating from criminal allegations swirling around associates, while his own political standing at home has decidedly weakened.