Deputy Prime Minister of India

Deputy Prime Minister of India
Incumbent
Vacant
Appointer President on the advice of the Prime Minister
Inaugural holder Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
Formation 15 August 1947

The Deputy Prime Minister of India is a member of the Union Cabinet in the Government of India. Not technically a constitutional office, it seldom carries any specific powers[1]. A deputy prime minister usually also holds a key cabinet portfolio such as home minister or finance minister. In the parliamentary system of government, the prime minister is treated as the "first among equals" in the cabinet; the position of deputy prime minister is used to bring political stability and strength within a coalition government or in times of national emergency, when a proper chain of command is necessary.

The first Deputy Prime Minister of India was Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who was also home minister in Jawaharlal Nehru's cabinet. The office has since been only intermittently occupied. The seventh and last deputy prime minister was L. K. Advani, who took on the role in addition to his home ministership from 2002 to 2004 in Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government. The current government does not have a Deputy Prime Minister.

On multiple occasions, proposals have arisen to make the post permanent, but without result. The same goes for the post of Deputy Chief Minister at the state level.

List of Deputy Prime Ministers of India

Colour key
№ Deputy Prime Minister
(Portfolio)		 Portrait Term of office Political party
(Alliance)		 Prime Minister
1 Vallabhbhai Patel
(Minister of Home Affairs)		 15 August 1947 15 December 1950 Indian National Congress Jawaharlal Nehru
2 Morarji Desai
(Minister of Finance)		 21 March 1967 6 December 1969 Indira Gandhi
3 Charan Singh
(Minister of Home Affairs
& Minister of Finance)		 24 March 1977 28 July 1979 Janata Party Morarji Desai
4 Jagjivan Ram
(Minister of Defence)		 24 March 1977 28 July 1979
5 Yashwantrao Chavan
(Minister of Home Affairs)		 28 July 1979 14 January 1980 Indian National Congress (Socialist) Charan Singh
6 Devi Lal 2 December 1989 21 June 1991 Janata Dal
(National Front)		 Vishwanath Pratap Singh
Chandra Shekhar
7 Lal Krishna Advani
(Minister of Home Affairs)		 5 February 2002 22 May 2004 Bharatiya Janata Party
(NDA)		 Atal Bihari Vajpayee

References

  1. ↑ "Of Deputy Chief Ministers and the Constitution". Retrieved 7 November 2017.
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