5 min readJun 10, 2026 06:24 AM IST First published on: Jun 10, 2026 at 06:24 AM ISTIf there is a prime minister that Narendra Modi can be compared with, it is Jawaharlal Nehru,” Dr Karan Singh told this writer four years ago. As the country’s oldest politician, who has worked with all the PMs of India, Dr Singh conjectured that Narendra Modi “would like to surpass” Jawaharlal Nehru as PM.On June 10, Modi overtakes Nehru as India’s longest continuously serving “elected PM”, completing 4,399 days in office, as opposed to Nehru’s 4,398 days — counting from 1952, when he was formally elected in the first general election, to May 1964, when he died in office. The ruling dispensation does not count his years as PM from 1947 to 1952, when he was “appointed” under a transitional constitutional arrangement and not through a general election.AdvertisementGiven the dramatically different contexts, it wouldn’t be fair to compare India’s first PM with its 14th, although both have been mass leaders who brought far-reaching changes.That India accepted both Nehru and Modi at different times shows the country’s own journey. Nehru’s appeal lay in his background as a Harrow-Cambridge educated, aristocratic figure who gave up his privileges for the rough and tumble of the freedom struggle. Modi’s appeal is in his humble beginnings as a figure who rose up the ranks to the pinnacle of power. That he has retained the trust of a large section of people even after 12 years in power is a formidable achievement.Nehru laid the foundations of modern, democratic, secular institutions, and tried to make the minorities feel secure in a country wracked by Partition and the exchange of 14 million refugees — while helping craft a liberal Constitution that was to guide the Republic. Modi, who fulfilled the core agenda of his party — the construction of the Ram Temple, the abrogation of Article 370 and the enactment of a ban on triple talaq as part of the exercise to legislate a uniform civil code, which the BJP-ruled states are opting for — is now set to pursue the “1,000-year civilisational project” that his party and its mentor, the RSS, are committed to.AdvertisementUnder Modi, the BJP came to power on its own for the first time in 2014. He widened its base while constantly adding to his appeal, from “Hindu Hriday Samrat” to the protector of the poor and disburser of social welfare schemes.Under him, the BJP expanded its footprints in areas where it did not exist, as in the eastern part of India. Today it is firmly in the saddle in Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha, Assam and most of the Northeast, apart from the Hindi heartland and the western part of India. Today, Modi looks invincible. Yet, no other prime minister evokes reactions as sharp and divergent as Modi — whether it is on the Hindu-Muslim question or the hardening BJP-Opposition divide.As he prepares for a fourth term, three “D’s sum up his challenges: Diversity, dissent, and delimitation. How he handles them will ultimately shape his legacy.As he overtakes Nehru, and with Hindus having grown more confident in the last decade, will Modi now shift gears and try to win Muslim opinion to his side in a true spirit of “sabka saath, sabka vikas”? His dream of a Viksit Bharat by 2047 can hardly be achieved if 200 million Muslims are alienated. India’s diversity not only holds the country together but is an inherent aspect of its democracy.While democracy in India has devolved, with power moving to communities that were once on the margins, there is a parallel process underway, which has brought institutions like the media, judiciary, and Parliament under pressure.Dissent is about holding a government to account. But it is also about generating new ideas, breaking new ground, and finding a new way of doing things. It is about the young being unafraid to speak their mind. That can only happen if questions are asked all the time. This is what leads to creativity — it alone can make India compete on the world scene.Delimitation will follow the current Census exercise. Unless handled right, this “D” word has the potential to divide India along north-south lines. Today, there is also a political divide on those lines, with the ruling BJP in power in the North and Congress and regional parties in the South.you may likeModi is the helmsman of a nation of 1.4 billion, most of whom are under 35. They are politically assertive, as seen in Tamil Nadu, where actor C Joseph Vijay became chief minister. It has led to the unprecedented digital phenomenon of the Cockroach Janta Party; its offline impact may be limited, but it is a wake-up call to the established parties to take note of what young India is saying.Few people are catapulted to power by historical forces to shape the destiny of their nations. Modi is one of them. So was Nehru. Applaud him or criticise him, Narendra Modi is not done yet — he can still spring surprises. History, for him, is a work in progress.The writer is contributing editor, The Indian Express, and has covered the last 11 Lok Sabha elections. She is the author of How Prime Ministers Decide