Nāgpur ( pronunciation (help·info) English: Nagpore) is a city and winter capital of the state of Maharashtra, the largest city in central India and third largest city in Maharashtra after Mumbai and Pune. With a population of 2,405,421 (2011) Nagpur Metropolitan Area is the 13th largest urban conglomeration in India. It has also recently been ranked as the cleanest city and the second greenest city of India after Bangalore. In addition to being the seat of annual winter session of Maharashtra state assembly "Vidhan Sabha", [Nagpur] is also a major commercial and political center of the Vidarbha region of [Maharashtra], and is also famous throughout the country as "Orange City" for being a major trade center of oranges that are cultivated in the region. In addition, the city also derives political importance from being the headquarters for the Hindu nationalist organisation RSS and an important location for the Dalit Buddhist movement.

Nagpur lies precisely at the center of the country with the Zero Mile Marker indicating the geographical center of India. The city was founded by the Gonds but later became part of the Maratha Empire under the Bhonsles. The British East India Company took over Nagpur in the 19th century and made it the capital of the Central Provinces and Berar. After the first reorganisation of states, the city lost its capital status but according to the informal "Nagpur Pact" between political leaders it was made the second capital of Maharashtra. Nagpur is also declared, "Tiger Capital of India " as it connects many Tiger Reserves in India to the world.

Raj Shrikant Thackeray (Marathi: राज श्रीकांत ठाकरे) (born 14 June 1968) is the founder and president of the right-wing^{[citation needed]}Marathi ethnocentric regional political party, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena ("Maharashtra Reformation Army") in the state of Maharashtra, India. His official name is Swararaj which means the king of musical notes. He is the nephew of Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray, and a cousin of the current Shiv Sena Executive President Uddhav Thackeray.

Raj was born on 14 June 1968 in a Marathi Kayastha (CKP) family to Shrikant Thackeray (younger brother of Bal Thackeray) and Kunda Thackeray (younger sister of Bal Thackeray's wife Meena Thackeray). Raj’s father Shrikant Thackeray was a musician, cartoonist and was also well versed in Urdu. He studied in Balmohan Vidyamandir, Mumbai and graduated from the Sir Jamsetjee Jeejebhoy School of Art, Mumbai. As a child he is said to have learnt the tabla, the guitar and the violin. He also loved drawing which later turned into a passion for drawing cartoons.

Narendra Damodardas Modi (Gujarati: નરેન્દ્ર મોદી; born 17 September 1950) is the current Chief Minister of the Indian state of Gujarat. Born in a middle class family in Vadnagar, he was the third of six children born to Damodardas Mulchand Modi and his wife Heeraben. He has been a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) since childhood also having interest in politics since adolescence. He holds a master's degree in political science. In 1998, he was chosen by L. K. Advani, the leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), to direct the election campaign in Gujarat as well as Himachal Pradesh.

He became Chief Minister of Gujarat in October 2001, promoted to the office at a time when his predecessor Keshubhai Patel had resigned, following the defeat of BJP in the by-elections. His tenure as chief minister of Gujarat began on 7 October 2001, and he is the longest serving Chief Minister of the state of Gujarat. In July 2007 he became the longest serving Chief Minister in Gujarat's history when he had been in power for 2063 days continuously. He was elected again for a third term on 23 December 2007 in the state elections, which he had cast as a "referendum on his rule".

Dale Willem Steyn (pronounced /ˈsteɪn/) (born 27 June 1983) is a South African cricketer who plays in Test and One Day International cricket for South Africa. He has been the number one ranked Test bowler in the world for the past three years and achieved the 900+ points benchmark on 13th Nov 2011. Steyn plays domestic cricket in South Africa for Cape Cobras. He is a right-arm fast bowler, and bowls at speeds of around 145–150 km/h (his fastest being recorded at 156.2 km/h during the 2010 IPL, Bangalore Royal Challengers against Kolkata Knight Riders). Steyn holds the record for the fastest South African to reach 100 wickets in Test Match cricket, a feat he achieved on 2 March 2008. Steyn currently has the third best bowling strike rate of all time in Test match cricket (amongst bowlers who have bowled a minimum of 2500 deliveries), behind George Lohmann and Shane Bond. He achieved a tally of 78 wickets at the world class average of 16.24 in Season 2007/08 and was subsequently rewarded with the prestigious ICC 2008 Test Cricketer of the Year Award.