PM Modi surpasses Indira Gandhi to become India’s 2nd longest-serving Prime Minister

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday achieved a significant milestone in India’s political history by becoming the second-longest-serving Prime Minister of the country in consecutive terms, overtaking the record of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

With 11 years and 60 days in office since first taking oath on May 26, 2014, Modi now stands behind only Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first Prime Minister, who served for 16 years and 286 days from August 15, 1947, to May 27, 1964.

Modi, 74, is the first non-Congress leader to reach this milestone and also holds the distinction of being the first Prime Minister born after India’s independence. In addition, he is the longest-serving Prime Minister from a non-Hindi speaking state, having earlier served as Chief Minister of Gujarat from October 2001 to May 2014.

Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi held office for 11 years and 59 days in consecutive terms, from January 24, 1966, to March 24, 1977.

Under Modi’s leadership, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured landslide victories in both the 2014 and 2019 general elections, winning absolute majorities—a feat not seen since the Congress party's sweep in the 1984 general elections.