Venkaiaha Naidu, Karan Singh reflect on PM Narendra Modi’s record-breaking tenure and road ahead
New Delhi : M. Venkaiah Naidu writes in The Indian Express that Narendra Modi became the elected PM with the longest continuous tenure, 4,399 days in office, surpassing Nehru’s record. Concurrently, Karan Singh notes in The Business Standard states, India witnesses a notable moment in its democratic journey as Mr Modi becomes the longest-serving Prime Minister in the nation’s history in terms of continuous tenure, having completed more uninterrupted days in office than any of his predecessors.
Naidu states that Independent India has seen 15 prime ministers from Jawaharlal Nehru to Narendra Damodardas Modi, who served the country in different socio-political and economic scenarios, addressing a variety of challenges to the best of their abilities. Singh reflects on his own long career in public life since Independence, recalling that he served in Mrs Indira Gandhi’s Cabinet for 10 years and witnessed both her greatest triumph in the creation of Bangladesh and her darkest hour during the Emergency.
Singh notes that Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was his mentor, who inherited a wounded civilisation emerging from colonialism, poverty, partition, and communal slaughter, and whose great achievement was to transform a vast and diverse subcontinent into a functioning democratic republic.
Singh noted, “The country’s population had grown from about 340 million to nearly 1.46 billion, while the electorate had expanded from about 110 million voters to over 830 million.” In this massive modern democracy, Singh emphasises that leading a party to three consecutive parliamentary victories is itself a remarkable political accomplishment. Naidu asserts that this achievement is deeply significant because it comes in an era of unprecedented political competition, coalition dynamics, 24-hour media scrutiny, and the rise of social media-driven public discourse.
M. Venkaiah Naidu underscores that Modi was born to parents of modest means and worked as a tea vendor in Vadnagar, Gujarat, assisting his father. Naidu notes that travelling from there to the PM’s office in South Block in the national capital is an extraordinary achievement born of a journey of self-realisation, understanding Bharat, its people, and their problems.
Naidu shares that Modi’s mind was primarily shaped by his early association with the RSS, where he quietly went about discharging assigned duties at various levels, acquiring immense organisational abilities, clarity of thought, and the courage to dream of India’s destiny. Naidu records that at age 51, Modi became the youngest Chief Minister of Gujarat, embarking on an unbroken 13-year tenure as CM, where the “Gujarat model” captured the imagination of the country.
Naidu stated, “Modi’s philosophy is ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas’.” He further noted, “PM Modi believes that Bharat’s trans-formation can’t be realised without the people’s participation. Swachh Bharat was made into a people’s movement with the construction of over 12 crore individual household toilets. Over 4 crore houses were built for the poor, and over 57 crore bank accounts were opened under JAM, enabling ₹45 lakh crore to be transferred to beneficiaries under DBT.
