Deputy Prime Minister of India
Bhārat Ke Upapradhānamantri
Emblem of India (without motto).svg
Flag of India.svg
Incumbent
Vacant
since 23 May 2004
Government of India
Style
TypeDeputy Head of government
StatusDeputy Leader of the Executive
Member of
Reports to
NominatorPrime Minister of India
AppointerPresident of India
Formation15 August 1947; 75 years ago (1947-08-15)
First holderVallabhbhai Patel
Final holderL. K. Advani

The deputy prime minister of India (IAST: Bhārat Ke Upapradhānamantri) 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
  BJP   (1)   INC   (2)   INC(U)   (1)    JD   (1)   JP   (2)   SJP(R)   (1)
No. Portrait Name

(Birth–Death)

Elected Constituency Term of office[1] Lok Sabha
(Election)
Prime Minister Appointed by Political Party[a]
Assumed Office Left Office Time in Office
1
Vallabhbhai Patel 1975 stamp of India.jpg
Vallabhbhai Patel
(1875–1950)
Constituent Assembly member for United Provinces 15 August 1947 15 December 1950[†] 3 years, 122 days Constituent Assembly[b] Jawaharlal Nehru Rajendra Prasad Indian National Congress
Vacant (16 December 1950 – 12 March 1967)
2
Morarji Desai 1997 stamp of India.jpg
Morarji Desai
(1896–1995)
Surat 13 March 1967 19 July 1969[RES] 2 years, 128 days 4th
(1967)
Indira Gandhi Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Indian National Congress
Vacant (20 July 1969 – 23 January 1979)
3
Charan Singh 1990 stamp of India.jpg
Charan Singh
(1902–1987)
Baghpat 24 January 1979 16 July 1979[RES] 173 days 6th
(1977)
Morarji Desai Neelam Sanjiva Reddy Janata Party
4
Jagjivan Ram 1991 stamp of India.jpg
Jagjivan Ram
(1908–1986)
Sasaram 28 July 1979[RES] 185 days
5
Yashwantrao Chavan 2010 stamp of India.jpg
Yashwantrao Chavan
(1913–1984)
Satara 28 July 1979 14 January 1980 170 days Charan Singh Indian National Congress (Urs)
Vacant (15 January 1980 – 1 December 1989)
6
Chaudhary Devi Lal 2001 stamp of India.jpg
Devi Lal
(1915–2001)
Rohtak
and
Sikar
2 December 1989 1 August 1990[RES] 242 days 9th
(1989)
Vishwanath Pratap Singh R. Venkataraman Janata Dal
Vacant (2 August 1990 – 9 November 1990)
(6)
Chaudhary Devi Lal 2001 stamp of India.jpg
Devi Lal
(1915–2001)
Rohtak
and
Sikar
10 November 1990 21 June 1991[RES] 223 days 9th
(1989)
Chandra Shekhar R. Venkataraman Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya)
Vacant (22 June 1991 – 28 June 2002)
7
Lkadvani.jpg
Lal Krishna Advani
(1927–)
Gandhinagar 29 June 2002 22 May 2004 1 year, 328 days 13th
(1999)
Atal Bihari Vajpayee K. R. Narayanan Bharatiya Janata Party
Vacant (Since 23 May 2004)

Statistics

List of deputy prime ministers by length of term
No. Name Party Length of term
Longest continuous term Total years of deputy premiership
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
Lal Krishna AdvaniDevi LalYashwantrao ChavanJagjivan RamCharan SinghMorarji DesaiVallabhbhai Patel
List by party
Political parties by total timespan of their member holding Deputy Prime Minister's Office (29 May 2023)
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
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
INC
BJP
JP
JD
SJP(R)
INC(U)

See also

Notes

  1. ^ This column only names the deputy prime minister's party. The central government he heads with prime minister may be a complex coalition of several parties and independents; these are not listed here.
  2. ^ The Constituent Assembly of India consisted of 389 members elected in 1946 by the provincial assemblies by a single, transferable-vote system of proportional representation. The Assembly was replaced by the Provisional Parliament of India after adoption of the Constitution on 26 January 1950 until the first general elections.

References

  1. ^ The ordinal number of the term being served by the person specified in the row in the corresponding period