Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday became the longest-serving non-congress leader to occupy the office. With 2,272 continuous days in office as of Friday, Modi matched late Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s record who served in office for 2,272 days across his three separate terms. On Saturday, Modi will be surpassing that record.
“Today, Prime Minister Modi becomes the longest serving Indian PM of non-Congress origin,” the Bharatiya Janata Party leader Amit Malviya tweeted. “[Atal Bihari] Vajpayee ji served for 2,268 days in all his terms combined. Today Modi has surpassed this tenure.”
Modi was first elected PM in May 2014 when Bharatiya Janata Party in a landmark victory won Lok sabha elections with 282 seats in the Lower House. He then went on to lead second innings by winning Lok Sabha elections in 2019 again with an unprecedented 303 MPs.
Jawaharlal Nehru is the longest serving prime minister from the Congress, followed by his daughter Indira Gandhi and former Finance Minister Manmohan Singh.
Narendra Modi crossed the milestone just one day ahead of India’s 74th Independence Day. On Saturday, he will address the nation for the seventh time from the ramparts of the Red Fort.
Besides India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Monmohan Singh and Narendra Modi are the only two PMs to be re-elected for a consecutive second term.
While BJP leaders have lauded Modi and India’s achievements under his good governance, Congress spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill said he will be remembered for “setting scary, disappointing and nation-damaging records”.