Sameer Vaidya

My take on #Modi@25 . Here is a tentative list of 25 records and “firsts” associated with Narendra Modi as Gujarat Chief Minister (from 7 October 2001) and Prime Minister (from 26 May 2014), focused on political, organisational and policy thresholds.: 1. First Indian Prime Minister born after Independence (17 September 1950). 2. Appointed Gujarat Chief Minister in October 2001 without being an MLA ever . He was a party organiser; he won the Rajkot-II by-election in February 2002 to meet the constitutional requirement. 3. Became Prime Minister in 2014 without prior experience as a Union minister or Member of the Parliament. 4. Longest-serving Chief Minister of Gujarat (October 2001–May 2014, more than 12 years, sworn in four times 5. First non-Congress leader to take a party to an absolute Lok Sabha majority (BJP 282 seats in 2014 , the first single-party majority since 1984. 6. First non-Congress leader to win three consecutive Lok Sabha elections as the only face of the BJP (2014, 2019, 2024). 7. Only the second Prime Minister, after Jawaharlal Nehru, to return for a third consecutive term after general elections. 8. Longest continuous tenure as an elected Prime Minister: 4517 days by October 7 , 2026, surpassing Nehru’s 4,398 days. 9. Longest combined tenure as head of an elected government in India (Gujarat CM + PM): 9130 days by 22 March 2026, surpassing Sikkim’s Pawan Kumar Chamling (8,930 days). 10. First to complete 25 uninterrupted years as head of an elected government (7 October 2001–7 October 2026). Except for four days between quitting as CM and taking over as PM on May 26,2014 11. Under his leadership the BJP was recorded by Guinness (2015) and later party claimed itself as the world’s largest political party by membership (party figures later cited around 14 crore / 140 million, ahead of the Chinese Communist Party’s reported total). 12. Led the widest recent expansion of BJP/NDA state governments , from seven BJP-ruled states in 2014 to NDA peaks around 20–21 states and Union Territories 13. Highest number of foreign state/civilian honours received by any Indian Prime Minister (30-plus decorations from countries across Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas by 2026). 14. Among the most extensive foreign-travel records of any Indian Prime Minister: Around 100 international trips to roughly 80 countries by mid-to-late 2026, a span compared in reporting to Indira Gandhi’s long record. 15. High count of 17 addresses to foreign legislatures equalling the combined total attributed to earlier Congress prime ministers). 16. Abolition of the Planning Commission and its replacement by NITI Aayog (January 2015). 17. Demonetisation of the ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes in November 2016)—the largest currency withdrawal by value in independent India’s recent history. 18. Full abrogation of Article 370 and reorganisation of Jammu & Kashmir into two Union Territories (August 2019), first complete removal of that special constitutional status. 19. Statue of Unity (inaugurated October 2018): world’s tallest statue at 182 metres. 20. Successful UN adoption of the International Day of Yoga (resolution 2014; first observed 21 June 2015), backed by a record number of co-sponsoring countries at the time. 21. Rollout of th e Goods and Services Tax on July 2017, first unified national indirect-tax regime replacing the earlier patchwork of central and state levies. 22. Creation of the post of Chief of Defence Staff (2019 , first permanent tri-service military chief. 23. Implementation of One Rank One Pension for defence personnel, a demand pending across earlier governments. 24. BJP’s highest Lok Sabha seat tally (303 in 2019) and its highest recent vote share (37.46% in 2019) under his leadership. 25. Passage of the three new criminal codes (Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, brought into force in 2024) replacing the colonial-era IPC acts.