Mumbai, December 21: The year 2022 has been nothing short of a roller coaster ride. The world including India returned to normalcy after being forced to stay in lockdown due to COVID-19 from 2020 to nearly 2022. India specially witnessed quite a few highs and lows in its political history in 2022.

From the country getting its first tribal president in President Draupadi Murmu to India winning G20 presidency and Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray resigning from the top post after facing rebellion in his party, we take a look at some of the major political happenings that struck India and its political history unlike any other year. Year Ender 2022: From Queen Elizabeth II’s Death to Russia-Ukraine War and Elon Musk’s Twitter Takeover, List of Major Global News and Events of the Year.

India Gets First Tribal President

On July 21, 2022, NDA presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu scripted history when she became the first tribal leader to be elected as the President of India. Interestingly, President Droupadi Murmu is the second woman President of India after Pratibha Patil. Murmu, a tribal leader from Odisha was elected as the 15th President of India. She defeated opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha by crossing the half-way and earning more than 53 percent votes in the presidential elections.

BJP’s Gujarat Assembly Win

On expected lines, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) once again rode on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity to win the Gujarat Assembly Elections. The saffron party had a record-breaking win in Gujarat winning 156 of the 182 assembly seats. The win in Gujarat not only ensured BJP leads the state for the seventh-term but also decimated opponents such as the Congress and new entrant Aam Aadmi Party.

Congress Gets Non-Gandhi President in Mallikarjun Kharge

On October 19, 2022, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge created history when he was elected as Congress party's first non-Gandhi president in over two decades. Kharge defeated Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor by a margin of over 6,000 votes. Interestingly, Kharge won the Congress Presidential election with eight times more votes than Tharoor. While he officially took charge on October 26, he is also the second Dalit president of the grand old party in nearly five decades after Jagjivan Ram in 1970. Year Ender 2022: From Shraddha Walkar Murder to South Korea Stampede and Indonesia Earthquake, Harrowing Crimes and Natural Calamities That Shook India and World.

India Gets G20 Presidency

This year, India won the G20 Presidency and will hold the G20 presidency from December 1, 2022 to November 30, 2023. Interestingly, 43 Heads of Delegations, which is the largest ever in G20, will participate in the final 'New Delhi Summit' which will be held in September next year. The theme of India's G20 Presidency is "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" which means "World is One Family". The G20 Logo has been made using inspiration from the vibrant colours of our country's national flag. It also features lotus, which is the national flower and has "Bharat", written in the Devanagari script below the G20 logo.

Eknath Shinde Breaks Shiv Sena, Forms Govt With BJP

The whole of Maharashtra and India was taken aback when Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde broke away from the party and strayed into BJP's arms in Gujarat. The political turmoil in Maharashtra saw rebel Shiv Sena MLAs declaring Shinde as their leader which forced Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray to resign as Maharashtra CM. In another twist and what seemed like a tailor-made script, Shinde went on to form government with BJP but the saffron party stunned many by making the Sena leader as the new Chief Minister of the state.

AAP Becomes National Party

After the results of the Gujarat Assembly Elections 2022 were declared, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) led by national convener and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal became a national party. It must be worth noting that in its 10 years of existence, AAP has managed to form governments in two states - Delhi and Punjab. Besides, the icing on the cake was AAP's landslide victory against ruling party BJP in Delhi MCD Elections 2022. While AAP has become a national party, its failure to make inroads in Himachal Pradesh cost the party dearly. Year Ender 2022: From Zombie Virus Discovery to Elon Musk Twitter Takeover and Creation of Artificial Sun, List of Mega Events of Tech and Science World.

Nitish Kumar Breaks Away From NDA, Takes Oath Again As Bihar CM

The month of August this year saw veteran leader Nitish Kumar snapping ties with National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and resigning as Chief Minister of Bihar. However, Kumar rose to top again in less than 24 hours after his party Janata Dal formed an alliance with Rashtriya Janata Dal and Congress which was called to be known as Mahagathbandhan. Interestingly, Kumar is the second longest-serving CM of Bihar. After Kumar snapped ties with them, leaders of the saffron party accused him of betraying people's mandate in the state.

Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra

This year which saw ugly twists and turns also witnessed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi undertaking the "Bharat Jodo Yatra" to revive the grand old party and put a strong opposition against the BJP. The yatra which will be going on for 150 days and cover several states across India saw participation from leaders and party workers from all walks of life. The Congress party said that the Bharat Jodo Yatra is a movement to unite countrymen against politics of hate and divisiveness.

TRS Becomes BRS

As the year came close to an end, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao's party Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) changed its name and even got ECI's nod to become Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS). Interestingly, Rao changed his party name from TRS to BRS in order to plunge into national politics. Reportedly, BRS will focus on two states including Karnataka and Maharashtra with whom Telangana shares borders on the western side.

The year 2022 definitely rewrote many political history in our country and we only hope that the coming year brings a lot more positive and new developments in India's politics.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 21, 2022 05:24 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).