| Deputy Prime Minister of India | |
|---|---|
| Bhārat Ke Upapradhānamantrī | |
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 | |
Incumbent Vacant since 23 May 2004 | |
| Government of India | |
| Style |
|
| Type | Deputy Head of government |
| Status | Deputy Leader of the Executive |
| Member of | |
| Reports to | |
| Nominator | Prime Minister of India |
| Appointer | President of India |
| Formation | 15 August 1947 |
| First holder | Vallabhbhai Patel |
| Final holder | L. K. Advani |
The deputy prime minister of India (IAST: Bhārat Ke Upapradhānamantrī), although not a Constitutional post, is the second-highest ranking minister of the Union in the executive branch of the Government of India and is a senior member of the Union Council of Ministers. The office holder also deputises for the prime minister in their absence.
The office has since been only intermittently occupied, having been occupied for a little more than 10 years out of the 75 years since its inception. Since 1947 India has had 7 deputy prime ministers, of which none having at least one full term. The first was Vallabhbhai Patel of the Indian National Congress party, who was sworn in on 15 August 1947, when India gained independence from the British Raj. Serving until his death in December 1950, Patel remains India's longest-serving deputy prime minister. The post was vacant until Morarji Desai became the second deputy prime minister in 1967 and has the second-longest tenure. Morarji Desai and Charan Singh were the deputy prime ministers who later became Prime Minister of India. Jagjivan Ram and Yashwantrao Chavan became deputy prime ministers consecutively without the break in different ministries. Devi Lal is the only deputy prime minister to represent both parties in the same post. Lal Krishna Advani was the seventh and last person to serve as the deputy prime minister of India until the post became vacant.
The current government does not have a deputy prime minister and the post has been vacant since 23 May 2004.
List
- Key
- Colour key
| No. | Portrait | Name (born – died) Constituency |
Term of office Duration in years and days |
Other ministerial offices held | Political party | Government | Prime Minister | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Vallabhbhai Patel (1875–1950) Bombay (Constituent Assembly) |
15 August 1947 |
15 December 1950[†] |
Indian National Congress | Nehru I | Jawaharlal Nehru | |||
| 3 years, 122 days | ||||||||||
| Position not in use (15 December 1950 – 12 March 1967) | ||||||||||
| 2 |  |
Morarji Desai (1896–1995) MP for Surat |
13 March 1967 |
19 July 1969 [RES] |
Indian National Congress | Indira I | Indira Gandhi | |||
| 2 years, 128 days | ||||||||||
| Position not in use (20 July 1969 – 23 January 1979) | ||||||||||
| 3 |  |
Chaudhary Charan Singh (1902–1987) MP for Baghpat |
24 January 1979 |
16 July 1979 [RES] |
Janata Party | Desai | Morarji Desai | |||
| 173 days | ||||||||||
| 4 |  |
Jagjivan Ram (1908–1986) MP for Sasaram |
24 January 1979 |
28 July 1979 [RES] |
||||||
| 185 days | ||||||||||
| 5 |  |
Yashwantrao Chavan (1913–1984) MP for Satara |
28 July 1979 |
14 January 1980 |
Indian National Congress (Urs) | Charan | Charan Singh | |||
| 170 days | ||||||||||
| Position not in use (14 January 1980 – 1 December 1989) | ||||||||||
| 6 |  |
Chaudhary Devi Lal (1915–2001) MP for Sikar |
2 December 1989 |
1 August 1990 [RES] |
Janata Dal | V. P. Singh | V. P. Singh | |||
| 242 days | ||||||||||
| Position not in use (1 August 1990 – 9 November 1990) | ||||||||||
| (6) | |
Chaudhary Devi Lal (1915–2001) MP for Sikar |
10 November 1990 |
21 June 1991 [RES] |
Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya) | Chandra Shekhar | Chandra Shekhar | |||
| 223 days | ||||||||||
| Position not in use (22 June 1991 – 28 June 2002) | ||||||||||
| 7 |  |
Lal Krishna Advani (1927–) MP for Gandhinagar |
28 June 2002 |
22 May 2004 |
|
Bharatiya Janata Party | Vajpayee III | Atal Bihari Vajpayee | ||
| 1 year, 329 days | ||||||||||
| Position not in use (22 May 2004 – present) | ||||||||||
Statistics
- List of deputy prime ministers by length of term
| No. | Name | Party | Length of term | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Longest continuous term | Total years of deputy prime ministership | ||||
| 1 | Vallabhbhai Patel | INC | 3 years, 122 days | 3 years, 122 days | |
| 2 | Morarji Desai | INC | 2 years, 128 days | 2 years, 128 days | |
| 3 | Lal Krishna Advani | BJP | 1 year, 328 days | 1 year, 328 days | |
| 4 | Devi Lal | JD/SJP(R) | 242 days | 1 year, 100 days | |
| 5 | Jagjivan Ram | JP | 185 days | 185 days | |
| 6 | Charan Singh | JP | 173 days | 173 days | |
| 7 | Yashwantrao Chavan | INC(U) | 170 days | 170 days | |
- Timeline
- List by party
| No. | Political party | Number of deputy prime ministers | Total days of holding DPMO |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Indian National Congress | 2 | 2077 days |
| 2 | Bharatiya Janata Party | 1 | 693 days |
| 3 | Janata Party | 2 | 358 days |
| 4 | Janata Dal | 1 | 242 days |
| 5 | Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya) | 1 | 223 days |
| 6 | Indian National Congress (Urs) | 1 | 170 days |
- Parties by total duration (in days) of holding Deputy Prime Minister's Office
