From Ram Madhav to Apollo Tyres, the newspapers are replete with congratulations to Prime Minister Modi for having served 4,399 days, breaking the record of our first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, who, it is claimed, served for 4,398 days.Having read since our school days that Nehru was prime minister for 17 years, from 1947 to 1964, I was naturally sceptical about this claim that Modi had broken Nehru’s record, given that Modi has been prime minister for about 12 years.The flawed mathematics can be understood in light of the cut-off date, 1952, set after the first general elections. The eventful first five years from 1947 to 1952 are axed, apparently because Nehru was not elected to his post. Indeed, the eventful year from September 2, 1946 to August 15, 1947 was conveniently dropped, the year when Nehru assumed the position of Vice President of the Executive Council and, in effect, served as prime minister.Clearly, it is absurd to expect Nehru to have been an elected PM in today’s sense of the term in 1946 and 1947, when the franchise was limited to 14% and, significantly, the Centre under the Government of India Act of 1935 was not in operation.The first general elections, as they are held today, could not be held until the Constitution of India was prepared and promulgated, which did not occur until 1950. Even Indian independence was legally formalised under the Government of India Act of 1935.Indeed, the Government of India Act of 1935 served as a transitional constitutional arrangement till the Constitution of India was adopted. Political pragmatism prevailed in the Congress party’s decision to go ahead and accept the transfer of power under the Indian Independence Bill to two dominions, despite having moved on about two decades ago from the demand for dominion status to complete independence.Why then was Nehru, and not, say, Rajaji, invited to join what came to be the interim government?There were two elections in 1946 in which Nehru was a candidate: the elections to the Constituent Assembly and the election as the Congress president. Under the prevailing system of elections to the Constituent Assembly, provincial legislators voted for candidates proposed by political parties. Nehru was one of the 45 Congress candidates elected from the United Provinces (as Uttar Pradesh was then known).The election as Congress president was of particular significance. As Congress president, Nehru was invited to join what came to be known as the Interim Government. Nehru became president in July 1946, following the end of Maulana Azad’s six-year tenure as Congress president, dating back to the Ramgarh session in 1940.This was the presidency which was rightfully Sardar Patel’s, as the Provincial Congress Committees voted for him, allege the Nehru bashers. A careful reading of the documents reveals that Nehru’s name was the only one which remained in the contest after J.B. Kripalani and Patel withdrew their candidature.The technical position is that the Provincial Congress Committees’ stated preference for Patel did not translate into votes for the president. What mattered was that Nehru was the only candidate, and he won. In his own words,“I have been elected President of the Congress at a critical juncture. The sense of loyalty to the organisation has prompted me to accept the heavy responsibilities of the office. I think that the responsibilities of the Congress President are in no way lighter than the responsibilities attached to the highest offices in the world. I have derived strength from the confidence that you place in me and the support that you extend to me, and I shall be able to carry on the responsibilities of my office as long as you continue to support me.” (Speech at Delhi, July 20, 1946. From the Hindustan Times, July 21, 1946, Jawaharlal Nehru Selected Works, vol.15, pp.260-264)The answer, in Nehru’s own words, to why he, and not, say, Patel, was invited to form the government, is clear:“As has been announced by the Viceroy, I have been invited by him, in my capacity as President of the Congress, to make proposals for the immediate formation of an interim government. In consultation with my colleagues, I have accepted this invitation.” (Nehru’s press statement, August 13, 1946, JNSW, first series, vol.15, p.284)The democrat that he was, Nehru was quick in giving up the presidency:“Friends and Comrades, I am relinquishing the Congress Presidency. I feel ashamed to stand before the Committee and return the honour they bestowed on me. It is not because I have got something bigger, but because I and my colleagues have accepted office which has given us some power to work for the nation, though not complete power. […]“In the history of the Congress a new step has been taken which is a vital departure from the traditional policy of the Congress. They have taken charge of the major part of the Government of India. Of course, complete independence yet remains to be achieved. The Congress organisation still remains a revolutionary organisation.” (Inaugural address at the All India Congress Committee session. New Delhi, September 23, 1946)This address to the All India Congress Committee, which we have quoted to draw attention to his relinquishing the presidency, also indicates the political significance of the Interim Government. Nehru refers to the Congress having “taken charge of the major part of the Government of India”. The nomenclature apart, the Interim Government functioned as a provisional national government.Going by substantive authority rather than nomenclature, there is every reason to consider Nehru’s term of office as heading the government to date from September 2, 1946 when he and his colleagues are sworn in, to May 27, 1964, when he dies in harness.As Congress president, Nehru was invited by the viceroy to join the government. This is reaffirmed at the midnight session of August 14, 1947, when Nehru was sworn in as the prime minister. The cut-off date used by the Modi acolytes, the general elections of 1952, is but an affirmation of his standing.Sucheta Mahajan is a former professor at the Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University.