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How did Manmohan Singh become India's first Sikh prime minister?

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Mahatma Gandhi, holding a walking stick, walks beside Sarojini Naidu during the Salt March protest in 1930, with several men following behind them. — Indian National Congress Indian National Congress leaders Mahatma Gandhi (left) and Sarojini Naidu (right) on the Salt March in western India, March 1930.

Manmohan Singh became India’s first Sikh prime minister following the Indian National Congress party's victory in the May 2004 parliamentary elections.12

After the Congress Party defeated the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, party leader Sonia Gandhi declined the premiership. She subsequently recommended Singh for the post, leading to his appointment as prime minister. Singh, a respected economist who had previously served as finance minister, went on to lead the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) coalition government for two consecutive terms, from 2004 to 2014.12