Narendra Modi: Longest serving ‘directly elected’ PM

By Ms. Sharmishtha Mukherjee

Amid the raging debates about the longest serving Prime Minister in India, I remember an interesting insight shared by my father late Pranab Mukherjee about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s landslide victory in 2014. Baba was then the 13th President of India. Despite belonging to different political ideologies, they shared an excellent rapport that perhaps is the hallmark of a true democracy. 

After the election results were out, Modi ji came to meet Baba at Rashtrapati Bhavan. During the course of conversation, Baba asked Modi ji about his analysis of the election. He replied  that after three decades, a political party had achieved an absolute majority. Baba then, in his typical professorial style, asked ‘what else?’ When Modi ji kept quiet, Baba pointed out that 2014 was unique in the history of the Lok Sabha elections, as it featured a declared new face as the prime ministerial candidate. The massive mandate of the people given to BJP was not merely for his party, but it was a direct mandate by the people for Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister of India. Unlike other elections where the PM face is either assumed but not officially declared; or it is chosen by the newly elected MPs as per convention; or decided by coalition arithmetic, the process is done after the election. Modi ji’s predecessor Dr. Manmohan Singh, who was never a mass leader, was chosen by the then Congress President Sonia Gandhi. Two of India’s Prime Ministers- PV Narasimha Rao and Deve Gowda were not even members of Parliament when they became PM. Simply put, it was senior politicians choosing the Prime Minister. 2014 was a tectonic shift in the election dynamics of Indian politics where people of the country expressedly and unequivocally chose Narendra Modi as their Prime Minister, almost in a ‘presidential election’ fashion.

It is also noteworthy that prior to 2014, Narendra Modi ji was new to ‘national’ politics. He had built his aura and made his mark during his long tenure as the Chief Minister of Gujarat, but 2014 was his first Lok Sabha election. It is unprecedented that a first-time MP entered the Parliament House for the first time in his life as the Prime Minister of India. His emotional act of doing ‘Pranam’ on the steps of the (old) Parliament building was an understandably emotional gesture that touched the hearts of millions of Indians. 

Winning an election is never mono-causal and is a complicated process involving multiple factors. BJP’s robust grassroot organisation, strategy of continuous outreach to different caste and community groups, it’s quick recognition of mistakes and willingness to do immediate course corrections are some of the key indicators that made the current BJP an election-winning juggernaut that currently seems unstoppable. However, there is no denying of the fact that the face of Narendra Modi ji is perhaps the strongest trump card BJP has. In him, people see a strong leader who rose from the ranks through sheer merit and hard-work without any trappings of dynastic entitlements of both Congress and the iron grip of family-ruled regional parties. 

In a way, Narendra Modi has become synonymous with BJP. Let me share some interactions with friends from Bengal regarding the recently-concluded assembly election. While my own relatives are still die-hard Congress supports and had contributed to the meager 2.9 percent vote share of Congress in Bengal, most of my friends and acquaintances had voted for BJP. Before the election, I would ask them which party they would vote for. Mostly the answer would be that they would vote for ‘Modi’. I reminded them that it’s an assembly election and Modi ji is not a contestant. The reply would always be ‘oi ek-i byapar’- ‘it’s the same thing’. 

Narendra Modi ji is not only the longest serving elected Prime Minister the country, he is perhaps one of the strongest one the country has seen since independence. He has been able to provide a strong and stable government without falling prey to the vagaries (often blackmailing tactics) of a coalition government dependent on alliances for its survival. One may disagree with many of his policies or style of functioning, and which is perfectly fine in democracy; but one can not simply deny his charisma, his connect to Indian electorate as an inspiration to aspirational India. It was reflected in 2019 and again in 2024. You may love or hate Narendra Modi, but you simply cannot ignore the ‘Brand Modi’. With great power, comes greater responsibility. As an ordinary citizen, I pray that he does full justice to the massive mandate given to him directly by the people and take our nation to even greater heights.