A few months ago his future in one of India's most powerful offices was in serious doubt. But now, Home Minister Shivraj Patil appears to have planted his feet firmly in his ministry.
Severely criticised for his policies, approach and decisions ever since he became a surprise choice for home minister after losing the parliamentary election from his home constituency, Patil appears to have weathered many a storm successfully, at least for the time being.
Just a few weeks ago the capital was yet again full of rumours that a "disappointed" Congress president Sonia Gandhi had finally decided to remove Patil as he "completely failed her expectations".
Critics continue to snap at his heels whenever they can, but Patil has completed nine months in office and exudes new confidence.
But for him it was always like that.
"I do not think there were any problems for me. I was never upset with the criticism nor am I overwhelmed by the appreciations," Patil told IANS, adding: "I was always confident about what I was doing."
His critics were up in arms against him when the situation in the northeast plunged into turmoil. He was criticised for not visiting a restive Manipur when the social organisations there took to the streets demanding the withdrawal of an anti-terror law after the killing of a tribal woman allegedly by security personnel.
And when he did visit the state, critics said he couldn't make any impact there and had failed to create public opinion in favour of the government policies.
But Patil stood by, with great conviction that the state should be given a free hand in handling the situation and the central government could intervene only when the state machinery failed to control the situation.
Kashmir was another issue on which he ran into trouble with critics. The separatists' unwillingness to sit across the table for continuing the peace talks, which had been initiated by the previous Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, also was attributed to the failure of his functioning.
Newspapers were agog with reports that Patil had been pulled up by Congress president Sonia Gandhi and that the prime minister would divest him of the responsibility of handling the sensitive state of Jammu and Kashmir.
The Prime Minister's Office officially denied the reports.
Patil survived all these storms. May be because he had unflagging support of Gandhi. Patil had always been given major responsibilities ever since Gandhi took over the reins of the Congress party.
The Left parties, which had also blamed Patil for the faltering policies in northeast and Kashmir, have now stopped criticising him. And, according to well- informed sources, Left leaders have gone to the extent of applauding some of his steps in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) meetings.
Today, the mild-mannered home minister - who stands out for his sartorial tastes - is a confident man. Though he claims he was convinced of his ways, the political tide seems to have finally turned in his favour.
"The situation has become normal in the northeast. He (Patil) has been closely watching the developments there and has already visited the region very often. He succeeded in giving a new confidence and hope to the people there," said an official in the home ministry.
The official added that Patil's determined efforts in Kashmir also would soon show results.
"When he proposed dialogue with Naxalites (Maoist rebels) to bring them into the mainstream, everyone laughed at him. Now after Andhra Pradesh, even opposition (Bharatiya Janata Party) ruled Chhattisgarh also said it would talk to the rebels," the official added.