Politicians who went viral in 2025: speeches, mistakes and defining moments

Ankita Jain,

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The year 2025 was notable for political moments that quickly circulated on social media platforms. Some moments took on grave national significance, while others attracted attention because of their irony or surprise.

From speeches that resonated globally to comments and controversies that spawned memes and debates, many politicians were dominating search trends and timelines.

A look at those leaders who remained in the headlines and went viral in 2025:

PM Modi: India will identify, trace and punish…

Prime Minister Narendra Modi remained one of the most followed political figures globally in 2025. One of the most talked-about moments of the year came after a terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, where 26 people, most of whom were tourists, were killed by armed terrorists.

Soon after the attack, Modi addressed a rally in Bihar’s Madhubani district during the election season. The Prime Minister, known to speak in Hindi even at international forums, made a rare switch to English to ensure that his message reached the global audience.

Modi had said, “Today, from the soil of Bihar, I say to the entire world, India will identify, trace and punish every terrorist and their supporters. We will defeat them to the ends of the earth.”

The language change attracted attention online. Shortly after, India executed Operation Sindoor, a prompt military response targeting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in May 2025.

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Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Meeting with Destiny’

Zohran Kwame Mamdani created history by becoming the first Indian-origin and first Muslim mayor of New York City (NYC). The 34-year-old Democratic socialist will be sworn in on January 1, 2026, succeeding Eric Adams.

Before the election results, Mamdani had already received attention for his reel-based campaign for the New York City mayoral election. After his victory, his speech on 4 November went viral across all platforms.

Referring to Jawaharlal Nehru’s “Tryst with Destiny” speech, Mamdani said, “There comes a moment, but rarely in history, when we step from the old to the new… Tonight, we have stepped from the old to the new.”

He also referred to American socialist leader Eugene Debs, saying that he could “see the beginning of a better day for humanity”. His meeting with Donald Trump made him even more in the headlines.

Deependra Hooda’s McDonald’s comment

In Parliament, some debates are not about statistics or legislation, but about unexpected contexts. Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda delivered two speeches that were separated by more than a decade, but were linked by a recurring name: McDonald’s.

During the debate related to Operation Sindoor in the monsoon session of Parliament, Hooda had reacted sharply to former US President Donald Trump’s repeated claims on India-Pakistan ceasefire mediation.

During the debate, Hooda had said, “Either silence Donald, shut Donald’s mouth or close McDonald’s in India.”

Clips of the remarks soon surfaced online. It also revived an earlier speech from 2012, when Hooda had taken a very different stance. At the time, he had urged McDonald’s to source potatoes from Haryana and claimed that farmers in the state could grow “24 inches of potatoes” for the company’s fries.

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AQI definition of Rekha Gupta

After a wait of 25 years, BJP has returned to power in Delhi. Focusing on senior leaders, the party made first-time MLA Rekha Gupta the chief minister. This decision set the tone for a woman leading the national capital.

Gupta continued to make headlines throughout the year, often due to viral slips of the tongue and her unconventional ways of handling Delhi’s air pollution crisis. He was found making surprising statements around the pollution crisis.

One such moment hit the headlines when football star Lionel Messi arrived in the city. During one event, the crowd reportedly started chanting “AQI, AQI”. Many such clips of the incident went viral on social media.

Nitish Kumar’s viral hijab controversy

Nitish Kumar led the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to a massive victory in the Bihar Assembly elections 2025. With the victory, 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 almost two decades.

However, at the end of the year, Kumar found himself at the center 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 recently recruited Muslim doctor, questioning her veil, asking, “What is this?” And then pulled it down to reveal his face. A video of the incident went viral, sparking widespread criticism and debate across the country.

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