The Constitution does not say very much about the powers of the Prime Minister. But as the head of the government, the Prime Minister has wide ranging powers. He chairs Cabinet meetings. He coordinates the work of different departments. His decisions are final in case disagreements arise between departments. He exercises general supervision of different ministries. All ministers work under his leadership. The Prime Minister

distributes and redistributes work to the ministers. He also has the power to dismiss ministers. When

the Prime Minister quits, the entire ministry quits. The Prime Minister who is the most powerful. The powers of the Prime Minister in all parliamentary democracies of the world have increased so much in recent decades

that parliamentary democracies are sometimes seen as a Prime Ministerial form of government. As

political parties have come to play a major role in politics, the Prime Minister controls the Cabinet

and Parliament through the party. The media also contributes to this trend by making politics and

elections as a competition between top leaders of parties. In India too we have seen such a tendency

towards the concentration of powers in the hands of the Prime Minister. Jawaharlal Nehru, the

first Prime Minister of India, exercised enormous authority because he had great influence over the

public. Indira Gandhi was also a very powerful leader compared to her colleagues in the Cabinet.

Of course, the extent of power wielded by a Prime Minister also depends on the personality of the

person holding that position.

Who was also a very powerful leader compared to other colleagues in the cabinet?