It is a fact that the President of India holds the biggest position than the Prime Minister but the Prime Minister has more power than the President. The Prime Minister of India is elected every 5 years by the people of India and appointed by the President. In order to become the Prime Minister, the candidates need to have the majority of seats in the Lok Sabha, i.e 272 out of 543 for the Indian General Election.
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was the first prime minister of the independent democratic nation of India.
List of Prime Minister of India from 1947 to 2023
| Prime Minister Name | Period | |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Jawahar Lal Nehru | 15-Aug-1947 to 27-May-1964 |
| 2nd | Gulzarilal Nanda | 27-May-1964 to 9 June 1964 |
| 3rd | Lal Bahadur Shastri | 09-Jun-1964 to 11-Jan-1966 |
| 4th | Indira Gandhi | 24-Jan-1966 to 24-Mar-1977 |
| 5th | Morarji Desai | 24-Mar-1977 to 28-Jul-1979 |
| 6th | Charan Singh | 28-Jul-1979 to 14-Jan-1980 |
| 7th | Indira Gandhi | 14-Jan-1980 to 31-Oct-1984 |
| 8th | Rajiv Gandhi | 31-Oct-1984 to 02-Dec-1989 |
| 9th | Vishwanath PratapSingh | 02-Dec-1989 to 10-Nov-1990 |
| 10th | Chandra Shekhar | 10-Nov-1990 to 21-Jun-1991 |
| 11th | P. V. Narasimha Rao | 21-Jun-1991 to 16-May-1996 |
| 12th | Atal Bihari Vajpayee | 16-May-1996 to 01-Jun-1996 |
| 13th | H. D. Deve Gowda | 01-Jun-1996 to 21-Apr-1997 |
| 14th | Atal Bihari Vajpayee | 19-Mar-1998 to 22-May-2004 |
| 15th | Dr. Manmohan Singh | 22-May-2004 to 26-May-2014 |
| 16th | Narendra Damodardas Modi | 26-May-2014 to Incumbent |
Prime Minister of India from 1947 to 2020
Let’s check out all the PMs of India since 1947 in more detail:
1. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (From 1952 to 1964)
After the independence of India, Jawaharlal Nehru became the first Prime Minister of India who served India from 1952 to 1964, i.e 16 years, 286 days. He was the first Prime Minister of India who expired during his working period in office. Jawaharlal Nehru belongs to the Indian National Congress, the party that delivered the most PMs to serve India.
2. Gulzarilal Nanda (1964 and 1966)
Gulzarilal Nanda was appointed as the second Prime Minister of India twice by the President after the death of Jawaharlal Nehru in 1964 and Lal Bahadur Shastri in 1966. He handled the position of Indian PM from 27 May 1964 to 9 June 1941 as an interim PM for 13 days and again he served India from 11 January 1966 to 24 January 1966 for 13 days.
3. Lal Bahadur Shastri (From 1964 to 1966)
Lal Bahadur Shastri was appointed as the Prime Minister of India after the general election in 1964. Previously, he was designated as the minister of external affairs in the Indian National Congress. He served India as a PM from 9 June 1946 to 11 January 1966 for 1 year 216 days. Under the leadership of Lal Bahadur Shastri, the Indian army defeated the Pakistan Army in 1965 in Kashmir and he gave the slogan of Jai Jawan Jai Kishan during that war.
4. Indira Gandhi (From 1966 to 1977 and 1980 to 1984)
Indira Gandhi, the daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru, was the first lady Prime Minister of India who served the country for 15 years 291 days as a Prime Minister. Under the leadership of Indira Gandhi as a Prime Minister, India fought with Pakistan in order to free East Pakistan and made a new nation Bangladesh.
She was also known for imposing the Emergency from 1975 to 1977 in order to halt the general election. In the general election of 1980, Indira Gandhi again came into the role of PM and served India till 1984. Operation Blue Star was also successfully conducted under her leadership but she was killed because of that operation on 31 October 1984.
5. Morarji Desai (From 1977 to 1979)
Moraji Desai was the leader of the Janata Party who became the Prime Minister of India in 1977. In 1977, India got the first non-congress leader as a Prime Minister after independence. His working period ran from 24 March 1977 to 28 July 1979 for 2 years and 126 days.
6. Charan Singh (From 1979 to 1980)
Chaudhary Charan Singh became the Prime Minister of India 6th Prime Minister of India who served the country from 28 July 1979 to 14 January 1980 for 170 days. Born into a rural household in Uttar Pradesh, he fought for the rights of workers.
7. Rajiv Gandhi (From 1984 to 1989) – Youngest Prime Minister of INDIA
After the assassination of Indira Gandhi by her bodyguard, his son Rajiv Gandhi was called and appointed as the Prime Minister of India in 1984 and continued to serve India till 1989, thus he remain Indian PM for 5 years and 32 days at the age of 40 years, the youngest PM of India.
In 1985. He became the president of the Indian National Congress in 1985 but his presidency was characterized by high-profile incidents including the Shah Bano case, the Bhopal gas catastrophe, and the Bofors scam. He was 46 years old when he was killed by an LTTE suicide bomber in 1991, and he received the Bharat Ratna posthumously.
8. Vishwanath Pratap Singh (From 1989 to 1990)
Vishwanath Pratap Singh was a congress politician who served India as a PM from 2 December 1989 to 10 November 1990 for 343 days. Under the leadership of Rajiv Gandhi as a PM in 1989, he played the role of Defense Minister when the Bofors scandal happened.
9. Chandra Shekhar (From 1990 to 1991)
In 1990, Chandra Shekhar of Janta Dal became the Prime Minister with the support of the Congress party in order to postpone the general election. His government was known as the “lame duck” since it had the fewest party MPs. Two significant occasions throughout his leadership were the financial recession of 1991 and the killing of Rajiv Gandhi. His working period was extended from 10 November 1990 to 21 June 1991 for 243 days.
10. P. V. Narasimha Rao (From 1991 to 1996)
P. V. Narasimha Rao was a Congress leader who belonged to the Southern region of India and became the Prime Minister of India in 1991. He headed the Home Ministry under the Rajiv Gandhi government in 1989, then led the Defense and External Affairs Ministry in his own government from 1991 to 1996. He served India from 21 June 1991 to 16 May 1996 for 4 years and 330 days.
11. Atal Bihari Vajpayee (1996, 1998, 1999)
Atal Bihari Vajpayee was a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party who became Indian Prime Minister 3 times in 1996, 1998, and 1999. He was then the only non-congress leader who served India as a PM for the complete 5 years. He served India as a PM for 6 years and 80 days.
12. H. D. Deve Gowda (From 1996 to 1997)
H.D. Deve Gowda became the Prime Minister of India in 1996 when there was no party with the required number of seats, so Dev Gowda from United Front was appointed Prime Minister with the support of Congress in order to form a government. His working period ran from 1 June 1996 to 21 April 1997 for 324 days.
13. Inder Kumar Gujral (From 1997 to 1998)
Indra Kumar Gujral became the Prime Minister of India in 1997 and served it till 1998 for 332 days. He had been a part of the Quit India Movement under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi and also became a Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha member.
14. Manmohan Singh (From 2004 to 2014)
In the general election of 2004, when Bharatiya Janata Party was demolished by the INC Manmohan Singh became the Prime Minister of India, he served India by leading United Progressive Alliance (UPA) administrations twice as a PM from 2004 to 2009 and 2009 to 2014 for 10 years 4 days.
As the finance minister under the PV Narasimha Rao administration, he is highly recognized for his role in the 1991 LPG (Liberalization, Privatization, and Globalization) development in India. In addition, Manmohan Singh served as the Reserve Bank of India’s fifteenth governor.
15. Narendra Modi (From 2014 – 2024)
In the general election of 2014, Bharatiya Janata Party with 272+ seats got the majority and formed the government under the leadership of Narendra Modi as the 15th Prime Minister of India for the 16th Lok Sabha. Currently, he is serving India and heading Lok Sabha as a PM in 2022 and will continue till the next general election of 2024.