Rajdeep Sardesai is a veteran Indian journalist, television news anchor, and author widely recognized as one of the most prominent political commentators in Indian broadcast media. Known for his decades of election coverage and his role in launching CNN-IBN, Sardesai currently serves as Consulting Editor and lead news anchor at India Today Television. In 2026, he remained a frequently trending figure, most notably for a widely shared on-air confrontation with US far-right activist Laura Loomer.
Quick Facts
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Real Name | Rajdeep Dilip Sardesai |
| Date of Birth | 24 May 1965 |
| Age | 61 (as of 2026) |
| Birthplace | Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Religion | |
| Education | St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai (B.A., Economics); University College, Oxford (M.A., BCL) |
| Profession | Journalist, News Anchor, Author |
| Known For | CNN-IBN founding editor; India Today Consulting Editor; election coverage; Padma Shri (2008) |
| Spouse | Sagarika Ghose (m. 1994), journalist, author, and Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP |
| Social Handles | X (Twitter): @sardesairajdeep |
Who Is Rajdeep Sardesai?
Rajdeep Sardesai is an Indian journalist, news anchor, reporter and author who serves as a consulting editor and anchor of India Today Television. He previously served as Editor-in-Chief of Global Broadcast News, which included CNN-IBN, IBN7, and IBN-Lokmat, before resigning in July 2014.
He is regarded as one of the defining voices of English-language television journalism in India, particularly known for his political reporting and election-night broadcasts spanning more than three decades.
Early Life & Family
Rajdeep Sardesai was born on 24 May 1965 in Ahmedabad. He was born to renowned Indian Test cricketer Dilip Sardesai and sociologist-activist Nandini Sardesai, who served as head of the Department of Sociology at St. Xavier’s College in Mumbai. His father, Dilip Sardesai, was a celebrated Indian Test batsman who played for the national side through the 1960s and early 1970s and passed away in 2007.
Education
Sardesai’s schooling took him to Campion School, Mumbai, and later to The Cathedral & John Connon School, Mumbai. He completed a B.A. at St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, before earning an M.A. and BCL (Bachelor of Civil Law) at University College, Oxford. At Oxford, he also earned a Cricket Blue, representing the university in first-class cricket, following in his father’s cricketing footsteps.
Career
Early Career: Print Journalism (1988–1994)
Sardesai initially worked with the Times of India for six years and was the city editor of its Mumbai edition.
Television Breakthrough: NDTV (1994–2005)
He entered television journalism in 1994 as Political Editor of New Delhi Television (NDTV). He went on to become Managing Editor of both NDTV 24×7 and NDTV India, overseeing news policy for both channels, and hosted the popular show “The Big Fight.”
Founding CNN-IBN (2005–2014)
In 2005, Sardesai left NDTV to establish his own company, Global Broadcast News (GBN), in collaboration with CNN and Raghav Bahl’s TV18, which led to the creation of the English news channel CNN-IBN, which went on air in December 2005. The venture later expanded with a stake in Channel 7, renamed IBN7. However, in 2014, Sardesai and his entire founding team resigned from the Network18 group after Reliance Industries acquired control.
India Today Group (2014–Present)
Sardesai joined the India Today Group as Consulting Editor in September 2014, where he anchors a flagship prime-time show and continues to lead election-night and political coverage. He is described as an award-winning journalist, author, columnist and news presenter with more than thirty years of experience in print and television news.
Authorship
Sardesai has written several bestselling books on Indian politics, including 2014: The Election That Changed India, 2019: How Modi Won India, 2024: The Election That Surprised India, and Democracy’s XI: The Great Indian Cricket Story which was shortlisted as the MCC Lord’s Cricket Book of the Year (2017–18).
Awards & Recognition
- Padma Shri, one of India’s highest civilian honours (2008)
- International Broadcasters Award for coverage of the 2002 Gujarat riots
- Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award (2007)
- Prem Bhatia Award for Political Journalism (2019)
- Asian Television Award for Best News Presenter in Asia (2014), for coverage of the general elections
- Indian Television Academy’s News Anchor of the Year, for eight of ten years in one stretch
- Lifetime Achievement Award (2020)
Controversies
Sardesai’s long career has included several high-profile controversies, which the site presents here strictly as documented events:
2021 Farmers’ Protest Tweet: India Today cut Sardesai’s monthly salary after he alleged, in a tweet he later retracted, that Navreet Singh was killed in a police shooting during the 2020–2021 farmers’ protest. Delhi Police disputed the claim, pointing to CCTV footage of the incident. India Today Group suspended Sardesai for two weeks in addition to withholding a month’s salary. He was also named, along with several other journalists, in a sedition case related to coverage of the Republic Day violence — a case that drew wide criticism from press-freedom advocates as an overreach.
Shazia Ilmi Defamation Case: A defamation dispute with BJP leader Shazia Ilmi arose after she left a televised Agniveer-scheme debate hosted by Sardesai midway; she later objected to a video and social media post from Sardesai that she said breached her privacy after the show ended. In April 2025, a single judge granted her partial relief, and the case was set for appeal at the Delhi High Court. A Delhi High Court bench separately imposed Rs 25,000 in costs on Ilmi for allegedly withholding facts in her plea. This matter remains a live legal proceeding, and BiographyMakers.com does not take a position on its merits.
Laura Loomer Confrontation (March 2026): At the India Today Conclave 2026, Sardesai confronted US far-right activist Laura Loomer over past controversial remarks, telling her “Your remarks are brazenly racist and Islamophobic.” Loomer responded by acknowledging some of her earlier posts had “crossed the line” and said Twitter, not her, had deleted certain posts about Indians. The clip went viral, with many online commentators praising Sardesai, though some commentary questioned whether the confrontation was a scripted moment given the criticism directed at India Today for inviting Loomer in the first place.
GDP Data Debate (September 2026): Sardesai’s on-air questioning of India’s Q1 FY27 GDP figures drew pushback from other commentators. Business Today Group Editor Siddharth Zarabi publicly disputed Sardesai’s framing, accusing him of “comparing apples and oranges” on current versus constant prices and of bringing “politics” and “personal ideology” into a statistical matter. This remains a debated exchange between journalists rather than a settled factual dispute, and readers should note both sides presented competing interpretations of the underlying data.
Older disputes: Sardesai has periodically faced accusations of selective framing from critics across the political spectrum, including a 2024 viral (and later clarified) clip regarding remarks on regional crime patterns, which fact-checkers later found had been edited out of context, with Sardesai’s fuller remarks addressing gender dynamics across states more broadly. As with the above, BiographyMakers.com presents this as a documented media dispute, not settled fact about Sardesai’s intent.
Personal Life
Sardesai is married to Sagarika Ghose, a journalist, columnist, and author, whom he wed in 1994. The couple has two children, Ishan and Tarini. Sagarika Ghose has since entered politics; she became a Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP from West Bengal in April 2024. Sardesai’s father-in-law is Bhaskar Ghose, a former Doordarshan Director-General, making the family one of India’s more prominent media-and-public-life dynasties.
Net worth figures for Sardesai vary significantly by source: one estimate puts it at ₹20–25 crore, while another older estimate cites roughly $4 million.
Rajdeep Sardesai in 2026
2026 has been an eventful year for Sardesai. In March, his on-stage confrontation with Laura Loomer at the India Today Conclave went viral internationally, drawing praise from many Indian social media users. In May, he turned 61, marking an occasion that industry commentators used to reflect on his career spanning multiple eras of Indian television journalism, from coalition politics to the Modi era. He remains embroiled in the ongoing Shazia Ilmi defamation appeal at the Delhi High Court, and in September 2026 he was at the center of a public sparring match with a fellow journalist over GDP data interpretation. He continues to anchor prime-time programming at India Today and remains an active columnist and author.
Notable Works / Bibliography
| Title | Year | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 2014: The Election That Changed India | 2014 | Political non-fiction |
| Democracy’s XI: The Great Indian Cricket Story | 2017 | Sports non-fiction |
| 2019: How Modi Won India | 2019 | Political non-fiction |
| 2024: The Election That Surprised India | 2025 | Political non-fiction |
FAQs
Q: How old is Rajdeep Sardesai?
A: He was born on 24 May 1965, making him 61 as of 2026.
Q: Who is Rajdeep Sardesai’s wife?
A: Sagarika Ghose, a journalist, author, and Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP, whom he married in 1994.
Q: What is Rajdeep Sardesai’s real name?
A: Rajdeep Dilip Sardesai.
Q: Who is Rajdeep Sardesai’s father?
A: Dilip Sardesai, a former Indian Test cricketer.
Q: What is Rajdeep Sardesai’s net worth?
A: Estimates vary widely and are unverified, ranging from roughly $4 million to ₹20–25 crore depending on the source; no official figure has been confirmed.
Q: Where does Rajdeep Sardesai work now?
A: He is Consulting Editor and a lead anchor at India Today Television, a role he has held since 2014.
Q: Why did Rajdeep Sardesai confront Laura Loomer?
A: At the India Today Conclave 2026 in March, he challenged her over past controversial remarks about Indians and Muslims, calling them “racist and Islamophobic.”
Q: Did Rajdeep Sardesai win a Padma Shri?
A: Yes, he received the Padma Shri, one of India’s highest civilian honors, in 2008.
Last updated: September 2026
