A prime minister of many firsts: Modi’s record-breaking journey to the top
From time in office to global honours, Modi has rewritten the political record book
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday completed 4,078 days in office, surpassing former Prime Minister late Indira Gandhi’s record of 4,077 consecutive days as Prime Minister of the country from January 24, 1966, to March 24, 1977.
With this milestone, Modi becomes the second longest consecutively serving Prime Minister in India’s history, behind only the country’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who served for 6,130 days from August 15, 1947, to May 27, 1964.
Here’s a look at some of the distinctions Prime Minister Modi has achieved.
First prime minister born after Independence.
Longest-serving non-Congress prime minister.
Longest-serving prime minister from a non-Hindi-speaking state.
First and only non-Congress leader to have completed two full terms and to be re-elected twice with a majority, making him the only non-Congress prime minister to secure a majority on his own in the Lok Sabha.
First sitting prime minister since Indira Gandhi in 1971 to return to power with a full majority.
Only prime minister, apart from the late Jawaharlal Nehru, to win three consecutive elections as leader of a political party in India.
Only leader in India (including prime ministers and chief ministers), to win six consecutive elections as the leader of a party - Gujarat (2002, 2007, 2012), Lok Sabha polls (2014, 2019, 2024).
Served 24 years as head of a democratically-elected government, either in the state or Centre.
Born into a modest family in Vadnagar, Gujarat, Narendra Modi rose through the ranks of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and later the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Modi was born on September 17, 1950, three years after India gained independence.
His formative years taught him tough lessons as he balanced his studies and non-academic life to spare time to work at the family owned tea stall.
At the age of 17 he left home to travel across India. When he returned home after two years, he had a clear idea of what he wanted to achieve in life. He went to Ahmedabad and joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
In 1987 Modi started work as the General Secretary of the BJP in Gujarat and went on to become the chief minister of the state for the first time in 2002. He went on to win two more elections in Gujarat in 2007 and 2012.
He led the BJP to victory in the Lok Sabha polls in 2014, and went on to win again in two successive elections in 2019 and 2024.
He has positioned himself as a key global leader, projecting India as a confident, assertive voice on the world stage.
Modi has been conferred with highest civilian honours by at least 24 countries, the latest being Ghana. He was conferred ‘The Officer of the Order of the Star of Ghana’, the country’s highest national honour, for his “distinguished statesmanship and influential global leadership”.
- with inputs from IANS
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