| Name | Political Party & Alliance | Tenure |
| Jawaharlal Nehru | Indian National Congress | 15th August 1947 – 27th May 1964 |
| Gulzarilal Nanda (acting) | Indian National Congress | 27 May 1964 – 9 June 1964 |
| Lal Bahadur Shastri | Indian National Congress | 9 June 1964 – 11 January 1966 |
| Gulzarilal Nanda (acting) | Indian National Congress | 11 January 1966 – 24 January 1966 |
| Indira Gandhi | Indian National Congress | 24 January 1966 – 24 March 1977 |
| Morarji Desai | Janata Party | 24 March 1977 – 28 July 1979 |
| Charan Singh | Janata Party (Secular) with INC | 28 July 1979 – 14 January 1980 |
| Indira Gandhi | Indian National Congress (I) | 14 January 1980 – 31 October 1984 |
| Rajiv Gandhi | Indian National Congress (I) | 31 October 1984 – 2 December 1989 |
| V. P. Singh | Janata Dal (National Front) | 2 December 1989 – 10 November 1990 |
| Chandra Shekhar | Samajwadi Janata Party with INC | 10 November 1990 – 21 June 1991 |
| P. V. Narasimha Rao | Indian National Congress (I) | 21 June 1991 – 16 May 1996 |
| Atal Bihari Vajpayee | Bharatiya Janata Party | 16 May 1996 – 1 June 1996 |
| H. D. Deve Gowda | Janata Dal (United Front) | 1 June 1996 – 21 April 1997 |
| Inder Kumar Gujral | Janata Dal (United Front) | 21 April 1997 – 19 March 1998 |
| Atal Bihari Vajpayee | Bharatiya Janata Party (NDA) | 19 March 1998 – 22 May 2004 |
| Manmohan Singh | Indian National Congress (UPA) | 22 May 2004 – 26 May 2014 |
| Narendra Modi | Bharatiya Janata Party – NDA | Incumbent – From 26th May 2014 |