Who among the following was the shortest-serving Prime Minister of India?

Question

Who among the following was the shortest-serving Prime Minister of India?

1. A. Atal Bihari Vajpayee
2. B. Gulzarilal Nanda (Correct answer)
3. C. Chandra Shekhar
4. D. Charan Singh

Correct Answer

Option B — Gulzarilal Nanda

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is Gulzarilal Nanda.

Key Points

• Gulzarilal Nanda served as acting PM twice (after Nehru in 1964 and Shastri in 1966), each time for only about 13 days.
• These brief stints make him the shortest-serving Prime Minister of India.

Additional Information

• Gulzarilal Nanda was acting Prime Minister twice — after Nehru's death in May 1964 and after Shastri's in January 1966 — serving about 13 days each time.
• He was never elected to the office; both stints were caretaker appointments pending the party's choice of a successor.
• Among elected Prime Ministers the shortest tenure was Atal Bihari Vajpayee's 16 days in 1996, which is why he appears as a distractor here.
• Charan Singh holds a different distinction: he is the only Prime Minister never to have faced Parliament.