The Indian Prime Minister
The Constitution of India expressly provides that the Council of Ministers shall be headed by a Prime Minister. The Indian President appoints the leader of the majority party in Parliament as a Prime Minister. He may be chosen from either house of Parliament.
Position of Indian Prime Minister
The Prime Minister of India occupies, a unique position of authority and influence. Firstly, he is the maker of his Cabinet in as much as he chooses his cabinet colleagues and as such he becomes their leader. If the cabinet is the steering wheel of the ship of the state, he is the steersman in it. Secondly, he has a position of ascendancy and primary in the Government of India because the whole range of powers vested by the constitution in the Union Government is exercised mainly on the advice of the Prime Minister. His position becomes all the greater when emergency is proclaimed in. the part or whole of India. In such circumstances the President performs his functions on the advice of the Prime Minister: It means that he is the executive, while the President is merely a titular head of the State. Indeed, the fate of India depends upon the personality of her Prime Minister i.e. on his intelligence, tact and other qualities of leadership. This can be illustrated by a brief description of his powers and functions.
Powers and Functions of Indian Prime Minister
If you study the article “Role, powers and position of the Indian Prime Minister” which clearly shows that he has pivotal importance in Government of India. He is the real executive and the head of Government. His position and powers can well be compared to those of the British Prime Minister. Like his British counterpart, the Indian Prime Minister, has been described as “the keystone of the Cabinet arch,” “The moon among the lesser stars” and “the steersman of the ship of the State”. If supported by a majority party, he is as powerful as the American President, except that he has two disadvantages, as compared to the latter. Unlike the American President, his term of office is not fixed, during which he cannot be removed from office and secondly, his Cabinet colleagues are not his nominees to be dismissed at will, as the American President can dismiss his Secretaries.