Why was Jawaharlal Nehru selected as the first Prime Minister of India

PM Jawaharlal Nehru addresses the nation from Red Fort on Independence Day, August 15, 1947.

The simple reason as to why Nehru became PM was that he was, by far, the Congress’ most popular politician (after Gandhi, of course). Right from the 1937 provincial elections, Nehru was the party’s star campaigner, enthralling crowds with his Hindustani oratory. Patel had an iron grip on the Congress party itself but he was many miles behind Nehru as a popular leader. The Sardar himself conceded this: at a massively attended Congress rally in Mumbai, he told American journalist Vincent Sheean, “They come for Jawahar, not for me."

American journalist Vincent Sheean wrote in his book  Nehru: the Years of Power

To sum the whole matter up, Nehru may be somewhat less of a politician than the late Sardar Patel, who held the nationwide party organization in the palm of his hand. And yet even Patel knew the facts: "They come for Jawahar, not for me," he said of the immense crowds once in his own Bombay. It is also true that Nehru does not have time any more for the details of party work every day. But by and large there is no man in India with a keener political sense, as he has repeatedly shown in emergencies, or with a deeper sense of responsibility toward his own party in the democracy. If he finds wider and deeper sources than the party machine for his own strength, it is because his nature, and the people's, would have it thus: such sources are older than parties and will outlast them. In turn he supports his own party with all the energy thus acquired, and it has every reason to be grateful to him. What may happen in his absence is another matter, but so long as he is there the political equilibrium will be maintained.

Thus, in 1946, when the Viceroy formed his interim government, Nehru was, unsurprisingly, given the highest post. Later, on August 15, 1947, he naturally took office as prime minster, without the least opposition from anyone in the Congress. Patel served as Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister till his demise on 15 December 1950.

Other things to consider:

One, Gandhi was a highly intelligent man with a good grasp of the realities of India, and he was also a great strategist who planned India's struggle for independence. His foremost concerns were Truth, Non-Violence, Equality and Justice. It's unfortunate that the man who led the country to freedom is now criticized unfairly.

Two, Gandhi preferred Nehru because Nehru was a charismatic leader with a mass appeal. On top of that, Nehru was a great diplomat who could convince people to work with him even if they disagreed with him. And most importantly, Nehru was a man with piercing intelligence who was well aware of his own imperfections and strove to overcome them. Such moral character and extreme self-introspection, while present in other leaders, were all the more manifest in Nehru.

Three, Patel was much older whereas Nehru was a relatively young man. Anyway, Patel died in 1950, so even if Patel had been Prime Minister for three years, Nehru would have most likely succeeded him.

Four, from hindsight, Gandhi's choice for Prime Minister was perfect. Nehru provided a stabilizing force that Jinnah never provided to Pakistan, thereby, protecting a fledgling Indian state from falling apart in face of the enormous diversity of India. Besides, Nehru was also a proper democrat who, despite having so much power in his hands, ensured that the democratic process was followed. In other words, he didn't personalize the position of the Prime Minister like Indira Gandhi did. Under his rule, the democratic institutions of India could mature to the extent where even Indira Gandhi's excesses couldn't shake them. Compare that to Pakistan, where the institutions of the state were defined by the people who held them, thereby leading to instability and arbitrariness.

Gandhi - Patel Relationship:

Gandhi loved Jawaharlal, trusted Prasad, admired Rajaji, esteemed Azad. But Patel, he leaned on and laughed with. Patel regarded Gandhi as his mentor, his leader.

And yet he 'owned' an equation with the Mahatma that was special. Everyone laughs differently with different people. What Gandhi and Patel planned together, worked-at together, history has recorded. What they laughed over, only they knew.

Nehru - Patel Relationship:

Nehru and Patel were in fact not rivals but comrades and co-workers. They worked closely together in the Congress from the 1920s to 1947; and even more closely together thereafter, as prime minister and deputy prime minister in the first government of free India.

Independence and Partition, Nehru and Patel worked shoulder-to-shoulder in building a united and democratic nation.

Nehru and Patel shared a deep love of their country, an abiding commitment to its unity, and, not least, a sense that they owed it to the memory of their common Master, Mahatma Gandhi, to work together, and to work ferociously hard too. For, as AS Iyengar’s All Through the Gandhian Era, published in 1950 remarked: “Both are untiring workers, allowing themselves practically no rest, either physical or mental.”

Patel represented Indian nationalism's Hindu face, Nehru India's secular and also global face. Their partnership, necessary and fruitful for the country, was a solemn commitment that each made to the other.

Conspiracy Theories:

It is often imagined by the Indian Right that Patel was India's “rightful” first prime minster but was somehow cheated out of the position by Nehru. More recently, politician Subramanian Swamy had a more detailed take on the matter:

Gandhiji took a vote of Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) presidents in 1946, and only one of the 16 PCC Presidents voted for Nehru. The other 15 voted for Sardar Patel. But Gandhiji asked Patel to withdraw in favour of Nehru for practical politics ‒ to hasten British departure.

This, as you may know, is an extremely popular tale on the internet. As you also might know, Pradesh Congress Committees voting to elect the prime minister is an absurd proposition ‒ a bit like Modi getting elected by BJP state units.

A variant of this conspiracy theory is that the Pradesh Congress Committees thought they were electing the Congress president (and not the prime minster). But the Congress president at the time of Independence somehow became prime minster (the exact process is never explained).

Problems here too: Pradesh Congress Committees don’t elect Presidents, delegates of the All India Congress Committee do. Moreover, Nehru was not the Congress President when India gained independence, JB Kripalani was. Tragically, no one informed Kripalani of this mechanism and he remained bereft of prime ministership right until his dying day.