Why Modi will be India’s most important prime minister

As he took charge, Modi turned his attention to “wicked problems” that have defied resolution for decades, even as governments and prime ministers changed. Jan Dhan bank accounts, toilets for every rural household, electrification of all villages, a new insolvency law and the implementation of a Goods and Services Tax (GST) were high on the new government’s agenda, alongside a pragmatic foreign policy with a strong economic focus and a determined effort to root out corruption at the top, particularly in defense deals.

Of course, it was far from certain that Modi would win a second and then a third term. But an impartial observer would have recognized that the change was not cosmetic. Modi was reworking the grammar of governance as well as politics, bringing an unprecedented level of effort and attention to reducing friction in government. The PRAGATI (Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation) platform has started to unblock projects that have been blocked for years. The new prime minister was an attentive listener, usually intervening at official meetings to make one or two points that often focused the discussion on the main point. In his public speeches, he started emphasizing service delivery and the Jandhan-Aadhar-Mobile (JAM) trinity became the cornerstone of a new governance framework touching all aspects of citizens’ lives.

When, on June 10, 2026, Modi overtakes Jawaharlal Nehru to become India’s longest-serving democratically elected prime minister, he will achieve an important milestone. Nehru’s tenure after the first Lok Sabha election, when he took oath from May 13, 1952 to May 27, 1964, totaled 4,398 days. From May 26, 2014 to June 10, Modi would have served as Prime Minister for 4,399 positions. Indira Gandhi’s consecutive tenure as Prime Minister from January 24, 1966 to March 24, 1977 is 4,077 days. Modi surpassed this figure on July 25, 2025. Although a unique feat for a non-Congress Prime Minister, the date marks another milestone in a remarkable career that is far from over.

Speaking at a diaspora event in the Netherlands on May 16, Modi recalled the mandate of the 2014 elections and said the faith and support of millions of Indians is the driving force behind his energy and focus on the public good. Much of politics is about difficult choices, and acts of affirmation and accommodation sometimes seem indistinguishable. But despite the political clamor, Modi has remained steadfast in his faith in governance and the belief that it will be rewarded. The Union Cabinet meeting on June 3 took decisions to create an aviation fuel stabilization fund to help the ailing airline sector, a phasing out program for old trucks and buses in Delhi, a coastal highway from Rameshwar to Paradeep, four laning of four highway sections in Bihar and Telangana and upgradation of another highway in Madhya Pradesh. Almost every cabinet meeting deliberates on similar decisions aimed at pushing India on the path of Viksit Bharat.

Leadership is never easy and Nehru’s advantage as Mahatma Gandhi’s chosen heir did not spare him the difficulties of a traumatic conflict with China. But he led a party that enjoyed a wide lead over all other challengers. Modi’s rise has been much more difficult. Initially, the BJP remained isolated for years due to its advocacy of a Ram mandir, a uniform civil code and its support for the abolition of Article 370. Modi lived through the situation for years as a karyakarta and his talent for politics was not immediately recognized. He had to make his way, open closed doors and prove his skills in a crowded and not always equal field. He had to accept a party diktat to stay out of Gujarat to beg a rival and even after becoming chief minister, only a revolt within the BJP national executive in Goa in April 2002 prevented his removal. An investigation overseen by the Supreme Court later concluded that Modi was not guilty of the 2002 violence.

“Sab ka saath, sab ka Vikas” is not just a slogan for Modi. As chief minister, Modi understood that growth and economic freedom would buoy all boats, even if the weaker sections required special attention. Ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Modi’s critics launched a sustained campaign to claim that Gujarat’s social indicators were only mediocre. They chose to ignore improvements in Gujarat’s ranking, given its inherited deficits, such as a large tribal population that had received sporadic attention. By 2012, poverty rates among marginalized communities had declined, and large minorities like Muslims were faring better than in many other states. Primary school dropout rates have decreased and female literacy rates have increased. Today, Gujarat’s unemployment rate is 1.1% and it provides employment to thousands of workers from less industrialized regions, with remittances helping to support households in their home states.

As chief minister, Modi demonstrated an early understanding of technology and its use in governance with SWAGAT (State Wide Attention on Grievances by Application of Technology), an IT system that allowed citizens to register complaints that were tracked and resolved. Today, almost every state has a “CM window” for similar purposes. At a time when regular electricity supply was a mirage, he started the ‘jyotigram’ project for rural electrification. Gujarat became fully electrified in 2006 and 24/7 three-phase power supply became a reality. This greatly helped small businesses, encouraging cold storage, frozen food retailing, and significantly reducing the use of diesel generators. Modi launched ‘Vibrant Gujarat’ in 2003, a bold move to lift Gujarat out of negativity and hatred in the aftermath of the 2002 riots and at a time when he was under pressure to prove his leadership. There was a strong representation from Japan and national majors also participated in the first edition of an event which has become a renowned event. Today, the Gujarat government is organizing conferences that have generated significant investments in renewable energy and reduced the gaps between different regions of the state.

Modi became prime minister at a time when coalitions were seen as the only viable model since neither the Congress nor the BJP were considered capable of winning a majority on their own. Nehru’s long tenure as prime minister occurred at a time when the Congress dominated politics and no other political party was even remotely in competition. Before the 2014 elections, no political scientist imagined that the BJP and its allies would win all the Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan and Delhi and a staggering 73 out of 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh and 42 out of 48 seats in Maharashtra, not counting near sweeps in others. “Ab ki Baar Modi Sarkar” captured the imagination of the nation and helped the BJP achieve an impressive victory. Modi has shown rare tenacity and self-confidence in pursuing his goals, as a repeat victory in 2019 was followed by a below-average score of 240 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha poll.

The setback could have been demoralizing, but the Prime Minister got back to work and, while the Opposition made the mistake of misinterpreting key aspects of the mandate – failing to recognize the regional, caste and community aspects of the results – Modi set about reviving the BJP’s fortunes, one state at a time. The Congress relied heavily on caste-based mobilization in Haryana while the BJP used messages of growth, development and counter-social polarization. The support the party received from urban areas stood out. The elections in Maharashtra resulted in a pleasing victory against the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), with the BJP, the dissident Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) winning by a wide margin. The BJP then ousted the Aam Admi Party (AAP) from Delhi and then retained Bihar. Most recently, he won a hard-fought battle in West Bengal. The BJP failed to dislodge the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) in Jharkhand and its strategies did not work in Tamil Nadu. Although it won only three seats in the Kerala assembly, its prospects are damaged by the waning appeal of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). In every election, Modi has without hesitation taken up the mantle of communicating with millions of voters.

The past decade has seen a rapid reduction in extreme poverty and Professor Arvind Panagariya, professor of economics at Cornell and senior vice-chairman of Niti Aayog, defines the task of moving India towards “broad-based prosperity” as India’s central challenge. “Countries that have achieved high-income status – whether the older industrialized economies of the West or the newly industrialized economies of East Asia – have done so by reorienting a substantial share of their workforce toward productive employment in industry and services, accompanied by massive urbanization,” he wrote. It highlights that in India, 46% of the workforce remains in agriculture and another 40% are self-employed or employed in enterprises with nine or fewer workers, according to the PLFS, 2023-2024, indicating significant underemployment. “The withdrawal of labor from agriculture will require the creation of remunerative employment in industry and services on a large scale. If such employment opportunities materialize, urbanization will follow, either through migration from rural areas to existing urban centers or through the transformation of currently rural regions into urban spaces,” writes Professor Panagariya.

Modi is focused on his goal of putting India on the path to sustainable progress and the Prime Minister is fully immersed in assembling the building blocks of ‘Viksit Bharat’.