On This Day: Indira Gandhi Elected Prime Minister of India

On Jan. 19, 1966, Indira Gandhi succeeded Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri to become the first female leader of the Indian government.

Gandhi Named Prime Minister

Indira Gandhi was the only daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru, a leader of the Indian independence movement and the nation’s first prime minister. She served as an aide to her father during his 17-year rule and served in the cabinet of his successor, Lal Bahadur Shastri.

When Shastri suffered a fatal heart attack on Jan. 11, 1966, Gandhi became one of the leading candidates to replace him, receiving the support of Congress Party leader Kumaraswami Kamaraj Nadar. “Increasingly, Kamaraj found that the person with the fewest serious enemies, the widest reputation and the most attractive personality was Indira Gandhi,” wrote Time.

On Jan. 19, the Congress Party held its vote for prime minister. Gandhi received 355 votes, while her only competitor, Morarji Desai, received only 169. Following her victory, Gandhi gave an address to the Congress Party.

“As I stand before you,” she said, “my thoughts go back to the great leaders: Mahatma Gandhi, at whose feet I grew up, Panditji, my father, and Lal Bahadur Shastri. These leaders have shown the way, and I want to go along the same path.”