10 longest serving Lok Sabha members

Here are the ten Lok Sabha members, who served long terms in the lower house of the legislation.

Indrajit Gupta - 11

Indrajit Gupta was the longest serving Member of Parliament from the Lok Sabha. He belonged to the Communist Party of India and won the seat a record 11 times from 1960 until 2001 barring the 1977 election. He represented Calcutta South West, Alipur, Basirhat and Midnapur constituencies in West Bengal. He also became the Union Home Minister under H D Deve Gowda and I K Gujral. He died as MP, setting the record for the longest-serving member of the Indian Parliament's Lower House.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee - 10

Atal Bihari Vajpayee served as the prime minister for three terms. He won the Lok Sabha seat 10 times as a member of the Bhartiya Jan Sangh, which merged with the Janata party and later the Bhartiya Janata Party. He represented Balrampur (1957-71), Gwalior (1971-77) and New Delhi (1977-84) before he was elected from Lucknow for five consecutive terms from 1991 to 2009.

Somnath Chatterjee - 10

A lawyer by profession, Somnath Chatterjee was elected to the Lok Sabha 10 times as a member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). He was the 14th Speaker of the Lok Sabha during the Manmohan Singh-led UPA-I. The communist doyen represented Bardhaman, Jadhavpur and Bolpur constituencies from 1971 to 2009. The CPI(M) expelled him from the party following a no-confidence motion against the UPA government on the Indo-US nuclear deal. Chatterjee retired from politics after completing his term in 2009 and Bolpur became a Scheduled Caste reserved constituency.

P M Sayeed - 10

The Congress leader P M Sayeed was elected to the Lok Sabha every single time for 10 consecutive terms from 1967 until 2004. He represented the Lakshadweep constituency since its formation in 1967. He was the Union Power minister in the UPA government in 2005 when he passed away from a cardiac arrest.

Kamal Nath - 9

Kamal Nath, the present chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, is a nine-time member of the Lok Sabha from the Chhindwara constituency in Madhya Pradesh. He was first elected to the 7th Lok Sabha in 1980 as a member of the Indian National Congress.

George Fernandes - 9

George Fernandes was a journalist and statesman who was elected to the Lok Sabha nine times. The socialist Fernandes has held key portfolios in the Union government including defence, railways and industry. He was also a founder of the Samata party. Born in Mangaluru in Karnataka, he was first elected to the Lok Sabha from the Mumbai South constituency in 1967 on a Samyukta Socialist Party ticket. For the 1977 elections, he went to Muzaffarpur in Bihar, where he became MP for three terms. He also represented Bihar's Nalanda.

Giridhar Gamang - 9

Giridhar Gamang is a former chief minister of Odisha and a nine-time member of the Lok Sabha from Koraput constituency in Odisha. He was a member of the Indian National Congress.

Khagapati Pradhani - 9

Khagapati Pradhani was a member of the Indian National Congress who was elected to the Lok Sabha nine times from the Nowrangpur constituency in Odisha.

Madhavrao Scindia - 9

A descendant of the erstwhile Scindia dynasty Madhavrao Scindia worked with the Congress and became a member of Parliament nine times. He also held the portfolios of Railways, Tourism, Civil Aviation and Human Resource Development under various governments.

Ram Vilas Paswan - 8

Current Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan has become an MP eight times. The Dalit leader began his political journey as a socialist and was associated with Jaya Prakash Narayanan. As a Janata Party candidate in Hajipur, he set a world record by securing 89.30 per cent of polled votes in the 1977 Lok Sabha election. During the VP Singh government, Paswan became Labour Minister. Under Deve Gowda and I K Gujral, he served as Railway Minister. He then held the communication and coal portfolios during the NDA government until 2002. In 2000, Paswan formed the Lok Janshakti Party. He even supported the UPA government in 2004. Paswan has a record of serving under five different prime ministers and serving ministries in all the ruling alliances since 1996. He is currently the minister of consumer affairs, food and public distribution.