The exit polls released at the end of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections came to a common consensus. Data from C-voter, CSDS, Chanakya, CICERO and ORG all point towards a sweeping majority win for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
There is also a strong indication that Narendra Modi, Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate is all set to take the position. Keeping that spirit in mind, here is an analysis of 10 prime ministers that have not been a part of the 'Gandhi' family:
1. Lal Bahadur Shastri
Term as Prime Minister: 1964-1966
Party: Indian National Congress
The first railway minister, he finally became the prime minister in the 3rd Lok Sabha elections after Nehru. He won his seat from Allahbad. He served his tenure for almost two years. His role in leading India during the Pakistan war (1965) was perhaps his greatest moment. He is famous for his slogan, “Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan” during the same. His economic policies included promoting Green Revolution for better food supply, and White Revolution for better production and supply of milk.
2. Morarji Desai
Term as Prime Minister: 1977-1979
Party: Janata Party
Morarji emerged at the winning end in the 6th Lok Sabha elections being the first non-congress prime minister. He came to power with a landslide victory after the controversial Emergency period, called by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. He won his seat from Surat, and served his tenure for almost 3 years. He was known to have established friendly relations with china, first time after the Indo-China war (1926).
3. Charan Singh
Term as Prime Minister: 1979-1980
Party: Janata Party (Secular) with the Indian National Congress
MP from Baghpat, Charan Singh was also a prime minister as a part of the 6th Lok Sabha elections. His term was however short lived as he served in office for only a few days. He was initially a chief minister of Uttar Pradesh in 1967, and always an aspirant for the prime ministerial post. He is known as the only prime minister who did not even attend one session of the Lok Sabha as he resigned before it even happened. He claimed to resign under the principle that he was not ready to be blackmailed to withdraw cases against Indira Gandhi during the Emergency period.
4. Vishwanath Pratap Singh
Term as Prime Minister: 1989-1990
Party: Janata Dal (National Front)
Popular as the Minister of Finance during Rajiv Gandhi's prime ministership.he became the prime minister during the 9th Lok Sabha. He was the MP of Fatehpur, and he served his tenure for almost a year. He faced challenges days within the time he came to office, when his Home Ministers daughter was kidnapped. He had to release Tamil militants in exchange which was faced with a lot of criticism. He resigned after he was dragged in to the Ram Janmabhoomi agitation regarding the Babri Masjid.
5.Chandra Shekhar
Term as Prime Minister: 1990-1991
Party: Samajwadi Janata Party with the Indian National Congress
He was a part of the 9th Lok Sabha, MP from Ballia he served his tenure for about a year. He was arrested during the emergency period. He was known for his nationwide 'padayatra' in 1983 to understand the country better. He is often associated with the name 'Young Turk'.
6. Pamulaparti Venkata Narasimha Rao
Term as Prime Minister: 1991-1996
Party: Indian National Congress
As a part of the 10th Lok Sabha he finally brought in stability, he kept his tenure for a steady six years. He was the MP from Nandyal. He was faced with many challenges as in the early 90's India was on the work of bankruptcy. He appointed Manmohan Singh as the finance minster. He is known for introducing India's first anti-terrorism legislation the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA). He was also faced with corruption claims in offering millions to Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM). He is till date known as the 'unsung' hero of the Indian Congress Party. As he left behind a legacy of economic reforms.
7. Haradanahalli Doddegowda Deve Gowda
Term as Prime Minister: 1996-1997
Party: Janata Dal (United Front)
MP from Karnataka, Gowda served office for a period of around one year. He was a part of the 11th Lok Sabha. Due to his habit of napping in Lok Sabha and other official functions, he was nicknamed as Sleeping Gowda. He is still active in politics and his legacy is moving forward with his son HD Kumaraswamy.
8. Inder Kumar Gujaral
Term as Prime Minister: 1997-1998
Party: Janata Dal (United Front)
He won the 11th Lok Sabha elections amongst key candidates like Lalu Prasad Yadav and Mulayam Singh Yadav. He served his tenure for a year, and was the MP for Bihar. He his associated with the 'Gujaral Doctrine' that set out the five principles of conduct of India, with its immediate neighbours.
9. Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Term as Prime Minister: 1998-2004
Party: Bharatiya Janata Party
He won the 12th and 13th Lok Sabha elections, MP from Lucknow he, served his tenure for a period of six years. He brought in the strong emergence of the National Democratic Alliance. He is often associated with the Nuclear Tests in Rajasthan, The Lahore Summit; push for diplomatic relations with Pakistan and the national highway projects as skilled economic successes. He also faced a lot of challanges; 2001 attack on Parliment and 2002 Gujarat Violence.
10. Manmohan Singh
Prime Minister Period: 2004-2014
Party: Indian National Congress
He won the 14th and 15th Lok Sabha elections, he too held a stable government by being in power for 10 years in line with Nehru and Indira Gandhi. Famously known for being a successful Finance Minister, Manmohan Singh was active in his economic, health-care, education and foreign policies. While India saw development under his watch. He also was faced with many challenges including scams like the Commonwealth games scam, coal scam, 2G spectrum Scam and many more.
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