New Delhi, March 22 (IANS) As Prime Minister Narendra Modi completed over 24 years as the head of an elected government, Akhilesh Mishra, CEO of BlueKraft Digital Foundation, a leading think tank, said the milestone reflects a rare democratic endorsement sustained across multiple elections.
In a post on X, Mishra said that in a fiercely competitive democracy like India, longevity in power is not granted easily but must be earned repeatedly through public trust.
“In a fiercely competitive democracy like India, longevity in power is not gifted. It is earned, election after election, verdict after verdict,” Mishra wrote.
Highlighting the significance of the milestone, he noted that Narendra Modi has now spent more than 8,900 days as the head of an elected government — first as Chief Minister of Gujarat and later as the Prime Minister — surpassing the tenure of former Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Chamling.
According to Mishra, such continuity in leadership is uncommon in democracies around the world, where even widely popular leaders often move in and out of power. He said that even India’s most dominant leaders of the past did not reach this level of political longevity.
Mishra said Narendra Modi’s tenure stands out not only for its duration but also for the nature of the mandate that has been renewed through successive elections.
Referring to Narendra Modi’s governance record in Gujarat, he said the period that began in 2001 during the aftermath of the Bhuj earthquake evolved into a broad governance model that emphasised infrastructure, manufacturing, agriculture and industrial expansion.
He pointed out that Gujarat’s Gross State Domestic Product expanded 16 times between 2002 and 2023, while manufacturing grew to nearly 44 per cent of the state’s economy. Agriculture in the state, he added, recorded an annual growth rate of around 8 per cent, significantly above the national average.
Mishra further argued that one of Narendra Modi’s key political contributions has been shifting the narrative from traditional anti-incumbency to what he described as “performance-based pro-incumbency”.
He also cited several national-level developments during Narendra Modi’s tenure, including the expansion of digital public infrastructure such as UPI, the growth of electronics manufacturing and a sharp rise in defence exports.
Describing the milestone as significant, Mishra said Narendra Modi’s leadership journey reflects not only political longevity but also a broader shift in governance and public aspirations in India.
–IANS
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