FROM his first swearing-in ceremony in 2014 to securing successive mandates in 2019 and a historic third consecutive term in 2024, PM Modi has emerged as one of India’s longest-serving leaders. On June 10, PM Modi will surpass independent India’s first PM, Jawaharlal Nehru, to become India’s longest-serving continuously elected Prime Minister with 4,399 days. Nehru was first elected to the post in 1952 (his previous stint from 1947-52 was as head of an interim Government, as elections were yet to be institutionalised and held). Indira Gandhi had a fractured tenure totalling 14 years. Prime Minister Modi has an unbroken tenure of 12 years as the PM, and still has three more years to go for the current tenure. Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said that for the first time ever under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership over the past 12 years, India has experienced both significant welfare improvements for the poor and remarkable development. In a post on X, Shah said, “Honourable Shri Narendra Modi ji took the oath of office as Prime Minister for the third consecutive time on this very day. Under Modi ji’s leadership, over these 12 years, the country has witnessed for the first time the parallel realisation of poor welfare and unprecedented development.”

 

Hailing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar said on Tuesday that the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and India’s foreign policy have undergone a transformation in the past 12 years and highlighted the initiatives introduced by the Government. EAM Jaishankar stated that passport issuance and attestation of documents have become a seamless experience for people, and the MEA has provided full support to Indians living abroad through Embassies and increased use of the Indian Community Welfare Fund. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said that under PM Modi’s leadership, India has rediscovered its cultural pride and national self-belief. The veteran politician heaped praise on PM Modi and asserted that this milestone reflects the enduring trust that millions of Indians have placed in a model of governance anchored in the principle of “Nation First”. In a detailed reflection in an article in ‘The Times of India’, Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda said PM Modi’s extended tenure surfaces Nehru’s record and demonstrates that Indian democracy has not only survived but has also thrived over time.

 

He noted that Nehru was chosen as the country’s first PM in 1947 under extraordinary circumstances from among several equally capable leaders, adding that Mahatma Gandhi’s moral authority over the freedom movement played a decisive role in that transition. Nehru, he said, carried the legacy of the independence movement into the first general election in 1952.