As PM Narendra Modi becomes longest-serving head of government in India, a look at the top 5 leaders

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Sunday, became the longest serving head of government in India. He surpassed former Sikkim CM Pawan Kumar Chamling's record of 8,930-day to reach the milestone. Modi has entered his 8,931t day in public life as a head of government, first as Gujarat chief minister and now as Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister had completed 25 years as head of government in October last year. (AFP)

Modi was the chief minister from October 2001 to May 2014, before he was elected as the PM. He is the also first Prime Minister born after Independence and is the third longest-serving PM of India, behind Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. In October 2025, PM Modi had entered the 25th year of his tenure as head of government.

While Modi tops the list now, for the longest time, former Sikkim CM Pawan Kumar Chamling was the longest serving head of government, having been in office for 25 years from 1994 to 2019.