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Who among the following persons became the Prime Minister of India without becoming a Union Cabinet Minister?
Explanation
H.D. Deve Gowda became the Prime Minister of India in 1996 without having previously served as a Union Cabinet Minister. Before his tenure as Prime Minister, he served as the Chief Minister of Karnataka from 1994 to 1996. In contrast, the other candidates had significant Union Cabinet experience. Morarji Desai joined the Union Cabinet as a Minister after the reorganization of states and served as Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister. Chaudhary Charan Singh served as the Union Minister of Home Affairs and later as the Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister in the Morarji Desai government before becoming Prime Minister. I.K. Gujral also worked with various Union ministries in different capacities, most notably as the External Affairs Minister, where he formulated the 'Gujral Doctrine' before ascending to the premiership.
Sources
- [1] Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 39: After Nehru... > Morarji Desai the First Non-Congress Prime Minister > p. 704
- [2] https://www.pmindia.gov.in/en/former_pm/shri-morarji-desai-2/
- [3] https://www.pmsangrahalaya.gov.in/prime-ministers-of-india