Premium

Top 10 longest-serving Prime Ministers of India in consecutive terms: Narendra Modi breaks Indira Gandhi’s record

Longest Serving Prime Ministers of India (2025): Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, holds the record for the longest uninterrupted term.

Top 10 longest-serving Prime Ministers of India to date: PM Modi to break Indira Gandhi's record

Longest-serving Prime Ministers of India: Narendra Modi on Friday overtook Indira Gandhi to become the second longest serving prime minister of India in consecutive terms, having remained in office for 4,078 days. Indira Gandhi was in the office in an unbroken stint for 4,077 days, from January 24, 1966, to March 24, 1977.

Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, holds the record for the longest uninterrupted term.

Modi took oath as the Prime Minister for the first time on May 26, 2014, and has served a total of 11 years and 60 days (ongoing) in office to date, making him the only PM appointed for three consecutive terms (2014, 2019, 2024), alongside Nehru.

Story continues below this ad

This also makes him India’s first post-Independence-born prime minister, the longest-serving non-Congress PM, and first non-Congress member to serve two complete tenures.

Top 10 longest-serving Prime Ministers in Indian History, as of 2025:

Among the ten longest-serving Prime Ministers of India, six were from the Indian National Congress party. Additionally, the list includes two leaders from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, while Morarji Desai and Vishwanath Pratap Singh were from the Janata Dal.

LATEST | Top 10 oldest political leaders in the world 2025: How old is PM Modi?

Enlisted below are the top 10 longest-serving Prime Ministers of India to date:

Rank	Name	Political Party	Tenure Start Date	Tenure End Date	Total Tenure
1	Jawaharlal Nehru	Indian National Congress	15 Aug 1947	27 May 1964	16 years, 286 days
2	Narendra Modi	Bharatiya Janata Party	26 May 2014	Present	11 years, 1 month, 29 days (ongoing)
3	Indira Gandhi	Indian National Congress	24 Jan 1966	24 Mar 1977	15 years, 350 days
3	Indira Gandhi	Indian National Congress	14 Jan 1980	31 Oct 1984	15 years, 350 days
4	Dr Manmohan Singh	Indian National Congress	22 May 2004	26 May 2014	10 years, 4 days
5	Atal Bihari Vajpayee	Bharatiya Janata Party	16 May 1996	01 Jun 1996	6 years, 80 days
5	Atal Bihari Vajpayee	Bharatiya Janata Party	19 Mar 1998	22 May 2004	6 years, 80 days
6	Rajiv Gandhi	Indian National Congress	31 Oct 1984	02 Dec 1989	5 years, 32 days
7	P. V. Narasimha Rao	Indian National Congress	21 Jun 1991	16 May 1996	4 years, 330 days
8	Morarji Desai	Janata Party	24 Mar 1977	28 Jul 1979	2 years, 126 days
9	Lal Bahadur Shastri	Indian National Congress	09 Jun 1964	11 Jan 1966	1 year, 216 days
10	Vishwanath Pratap Singh	Janata Dal	02 Dec 1989	10 Nov 1990	343 days

Source: PM Sangrahalaya

Story continues below this ad

Stay updated with the latest – Click here to read more Top 10 exclusive reports!

Cherry Gupta

Cherry Gupta is an Assistant Manager – Content at The Indian Express. She leads the Top 10 section, curating list-based features on key national and international developments, and manages daily news content. She also produces SEO-driven articles and collaborates with the Lifestyle team to conduct interviews with notable artists and write workplace culture features. ... Read More

Nepal’s Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak resigns after 19 killed in ‘Gen Z’ protests

World43 min ago

Nepal's Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak has resigned after 19 people died during youth-led protests demanding reforms and accountability. The protests spread across major cities and police opened fire on demonstrators. Lekhak tendered his resignation to Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli during a Cabinet meeting, following calls from Nepali Congress leaders earlier in the day.

View all shorts

Live Blog