Modi goes past Vajpayee, is longest serving non-Cong PM

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has become the longest serving PM of non-Congress political stock, surpassing the 2,268 days that his BJP senior Atal Bihari Vajpayee had clocked in his three terms combined.
Modi, who is in the second year of his second tenure, now boasts of the fourth longest PM tenure after Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Manmohan Singh, all belonging to Congress.
Vajpayee had three terms as PM - a 16-day tenure from May 16 to June 1 in 1996, followed by a 13-month tenure from 1998-1999 and a full five-year term between 1999-2004.
BJP MP and head of the party's good governance cell, Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, said Modi's feat reflected the popularity he had earned because of his work.
"First, his work in Gujarat made him the popular choice for PM in 2014. His performance in office enhanced his appeal and helped him score an even bigger win in 2019. The back-to back victories left no doubt about the stability of his government, and has given him the strength to deal with the challenges facing the economy, national security and foreign policy," he said.
Nehru, the first PM, remains the longest serving with a 17-year spell spread over three terms.
His daughter Indira Gandhi was the second longest serving, holding office for 11 years from 1966 to 1977. She lost in 1977 but regained office in 1980 and held it until 1984. Manmohan Singh was in office for a decade, from 2004 to 2014.
Sahasrabuddhe emphasised that Modi's two consecutive victories owed themselves largely to his rapport with the masses and said the PM's popularity continued to rise. "In this age, it is rare for leaders to achieve this kind of success," he added.
Among other non-BJP PMs, Morarji Desai was the third longest serving with an innings of 2 years and 126 days followed by V P Singh (343 days), I K Gujral (332 days), H D Deve Gowda (324 days), Chandrashekhar (223 days) and Chaudhary Charan Singh (170 days).