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List of Prime Ministers of India The Prime Minister of India is the political
leader of the country and the principal head of government of the Republic of India. As
addressed to in the Constitution of India, the prime minister is the chief of government,
chief advisor to the president, head of the Council of Ministers and the leader of the
majority party in parliament. The office holder is responsible for nominating all other members
of the government, chairing cabinet meetings. The office of Prime Minister was created immediately
after the establishment of India, according to the Indian Independence Act, in 1947. There
have been 13 and one acting prime ministers since 1947. From Indian National Congress;
six, Janata Dal; three and one from Janata Party, Janata Party , Samajwadi Janata Party,
Bharatiya Janata Party leaders have served at the post.
Jawaharlal Nehru was appointed as the first Prime Minister of independent India by the
Governor General in 1947. He served at the post till 27 May 1964 when he died in office,
making him the longest serving Prime Minister of the country. Gulzarilal Nanda succeed him
as the acting Prime Minister and served until elections. Lal Bahadur Shastri was selected
as the second Prime Minister of the country on 9 June 1964 and the place was taken by
Nanda as an acting Prime Minister again, when he died. Indira Gandhi assumed the office
as the third Prime Minister on 24 January 1966 and served till 24 March 1977, making
her the first female Prime Minister of India. Morarji Desai, the first Janata Party leader
and Charan Singh the first Janata Party (Secular) leader served at the post chronologically
until Gandhi was reelected for the post on 14 January 1980. She served at the position
till 31 October 1984 when she was assassinated, making her the country's second longest serving
and the world's second longest serving female Prime Minister.
Rajiv Gandhi, son of the late Indira, succeeded his mother as the sixth prime minister on
31 October 1984. V. P. Singh, the first Janata Dal leader and Chandra Shekhar, the first
Samajwadi Janata Party then occupied the post until the election of P. V. Narasimha Rao
of the Indian National Congress in 1991. He was succeeded by Atal Bihari Vajpayee; the
first Bharatiya Janata Party leader to take the position 16 May 1996, however the government
fell after 13 days as BJP was unable to get the support from other parties. H. D. Deve
Gowda and Inder Kumar Gujral, both from Janata Dal served at the post chronologically forming
the United Front until reelection of Vajpayee in 1998 who formed the National Democratic
Alliance (NDA) government for the first time. The government collapsed after thirteen months
resulting in fresh polls in which Vajpayee was reelected for the third time. He served
at the post till 22 May 2004 when Indian National Congress again came to power with Dr. Manmohan
Singh assuming the post as the 13th Prime Minister, forming the United Progressive Alliance
(UPA) government for the first time. Singh continued as prime minister following the
2009 general elections, and governs with the support of the UPA.
Prime Ministers