Twenty years ago today, Narendra Modi became the Chief Minister of Gujarat. During his 20 years as a political leader, Narendra Modi has held constitutional posts. For more than 12 years, Narendra Modi served as Gujarat’s chief minister, becoming the state’s longest-serving CM. Narendra Modi became the 14th Prime Minister (excluding acting PMs) in 2014. In fact, when Narendra Modi was sworn in as the Chief Minister, he was the 14th person to be sworn in as the Gujarat CM.
With his tenures as chief minister and as Prime Minister, Narendra Modi is one of the longest-serving heads of government in India. As of Thursday, PM Modi held the position of head of an elected government for 7,301 days – 4,610 days as Gujarat’s chief minister (till May 22, 2014) and 2,691 as prime minister. Modi’s tenure as prime minister is second only to Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, and Manmohan Singh in terms of duration. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru held the PMO seat for 6,130 days, Indira Gandhi for 5,829 days, and Manmohan Singh, Narendra Modi’s predecessor, for 3,556 days.
Modi will surpass Manmohan Singh in the number of days he occupies the PMO by the end of his current term on May 29, 2024. For PM Modi to overtake Nehru and Indira Gandhi, he would have to be elected and remain in power beyond March 2031. Even so, PM Modi has one more feather in his cap than Indira Gandhi and Manmohan Singh combined. PM Modi has never lost an election. At this point, he is at par with Jawaharlal Nehru , the first prime minister of India. Indira Gandhi lost the 1977 election. In 1999, Manmohan Singh lost the Lok Sabha election from South Delhi. As Gujarat’s chief minister since 2014, Narendra Modi has won all the assembly elections and by-elections he contested in Gujarat, as well as the 2014 and 2019 parliamentary elections.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) events marked the completion of 20 years of Modi in politics. In his unbeaten tenure as a politician, Narendra Modi benefited from a string of BJP campaigns meant to spread ‘awareness’ of his contributions. BJP’s top programs included a campaign for cleanliness, promoting PM Modi’s vision of Swachh Bharat. On October 2, Prime Minister Modi launched Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0, which aims to make cities ‘water-secure’ and rivers ‘sewage-free’.
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The BJP has also announced that gurdwaras across the country will perform ardas (prayer services) for the long life of PM Modi as part of the Seva Samarpan (service through dedication) campaign the party launched on his birthday last month. Several hundred Sikh farmers are currently taking part in the ongoing farmers’ protest over the three farm bills that were passed by Parliament last year. The laws have not yet been implemented. The farmers’ unions, however, have refused to accept the assurance from the Narendra Modi government that the farm bills are aimed at reforming agriculture in the country.
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