List of Prime Ministers of India

 

Indian Prime Ministers hold a unique position and is most powerful functionary of the Indian union. It is the Prime Minister who oversees the day-to-day functioning of the Government of India. The Prime Minister is assisted in this task by his Council of Ministers, comprising Cabinet Ministers, Ministers of State with Independent Charge, Ministers of State who work with Cabinet Ministers, and Deputy Ministers. 
  
The Prime Minister is the leader of the- majority party in Parliament It is he or she who has the power of selecting his colleagues and advising the President to dismiss any of the minister and force any of them to resign. In this respect he or she has a free hand as the President is required to act on the advice of the Prime Minister and for such advice the Prime Minister cannot be held responsible in any court of law.

List of Prime Ministers of India
No	Name		Party	Term of office
1	Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964)		Indian National Congres	15 Augest 1947 - 27 May 1964    ,16years, 286 days
2	Gulzarilal Nanda (1898-1998)		Indian National Congres	27 May 1964 - 9 June 1964 ,13 days
3	Lal Bahadur Shastri (1904-1966)		Indian National Congres	9 June 1964 - 11 January 1916,1 year 216 days
4	Indira Gandhi (1917-1984)		Indian National Congres	24 January 1966 -24 March 1977,11 year 59 days
5	Morariji Desai(1896-1995)		Janata Party	24 March 1977 -28 July 1979, 2 year 126 days
6	Charan Singh(1902-1987)		Janata Party	28 July 1979 - 14  January 1989, 170 days
7	Rajiv Gandhi(1944-1991)		Indian National Congres	31 October 1984 - 2 December1989, 5year 32 daya
8	V. P. Singh(1931-2008)		Indian National Congres	2 December 1989 - 10 November 1990, 343 days
9	Chandra Shekhar(1927-2007)		Samajwadi Janta Party	10 November 1990 - 21 June 1991, 223 days
10	P. V. Narasimha Rao(1921-2004)		Indian National Congres	21 June 1991 -16 May 1996, 4 year, 330 days
11	Atal Bihari Vajpayee(born 1924)		Bharatiya Janta Party	16 May 1996 - June 1996, 16 days
12	H. D. Deve Gowda(born 1933)		Janata Dal	1June 1996 -1997, 324 days
13	I. K. Gujral(1919-2012)		Janta Dal	21 April 1997 -19 March 1998, 332 days
14	Atal Bihari Vajpayee(born1924)		Bharatiya Janta Party	19 March 1998 - 22 May 2004, 6 year 64 days
15	Manmohan Singh(born1932)		Indian National Congres	22 March 2004 - 26 May 2014, 10 year 4days
16	Narendra Modi(born1950)		Bharatiya Janta Party	26-May-14

Eligibility
Article 84 sets the principle eligibility to become the Prime Minister of India. He or she should be the citizen of India, must be member of Lok sabha or Rajya sabha. A person shoul be minimum 25 years old in case of a seat in Lok Sabha and 30 years when it is Rajya Sabha. A person shall not be eligible for election as Prime Minister if he holds any office of profit under the Government of India or the Government of any State or under any local or other authority subject to the control of any of the said Governments.

Role and power of Prime Minister
Virtually, the Prime Minister distributes portfolios amongst other ministers and can change them according to his or her will. As the Chairman of the Cabinet, the Prime Minister summons Cabinet meetings and acts as its President. The Prime Minister stands as a channel of communication between the President and the Cabinet on mattes relating to policy though individual members have, access to the President in connection with, matters exclusively concerning their own departments. The priority of position-of the Prime Minister is more marked in so far as he or she is required to coordinate the activities of the different departments and through co-ordination the Prime Minister exercises the right` of supervision and control over the entire department. As Prime Minister, he is usually but not necessarily the Leader of the House to which he belongs. The Prime Minister is also the Chairman of the Planning Commission of India.

As head of the Council of Ministers, the Prime Minister oversees the work of all the Ministries. He presides over Cabinet meetings, which are normally held in the Cabinet Room of the Prime Minister`s Office. The Union Cabinet functions on the principle of "collective responsibility.

The names of the Indian Prime Ministers from the very beginning till now are Jawaharlal Nehru, Gulzari Lal Nanda, Lal Bahadur Sashtri, Indira Gandhi, Morarji Desai, Chowdhari Charan Singh, Rajiv Gandhi, Shri.V.P. Singh, Shri Chandra Shekhar, Shri. P.V. Narasimha Rao, Shri. H.D.Deve Gowda, I.K. Gurral, Atal Bihari Vajpayee ,Dr. Manmohan Singh and Narendar Modi.

Finally it can be concluded saying that the Indian Prime Minister is the one who exercises control over the Executive as well as the Parliament. Rather the Prime Minister of India is the ultimate head of the Union and major decisions regarding the country are taken by him.