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Deputy Prime Minister of India

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Deputy Prime Minister of India
Bhārat Ke Upapradhānamantrī
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; 77 years ago (1947-08-15)
First holderVallabhbhai Patel
Final holderL. 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

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Key
  • RES Resigned
  • Died in office
  BJP (1)   INC (2)   INC(U) (1)    JD (1)   JP (2)   SJP(R) (1)
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) – 16 years, 87 days,
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)  – 9 years, 187 days
3 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 Devi Lal
(1915–2001)
MP for Sikar
2 December
1989
1 August
1990
[RES]
Janata Dal Singh V. P. Singh
242 days
Position not in use (1 August 1990 – 9 November 1990)
(6) Devi Lal
(1915–2001)
MP for Sikar
10 November
1990
21 June
1991
[RES]
Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya) Shekhar Chandra Shekhar
223 days
Position not in use (22 June 1991 – 28 June 2002)
7 Lal Krishna Advani
(1927–)
MP for Gandhinagar
29 June
2002
22 May
2004
Bharatiya Janata Party Vajpayee III Atal Bihari Vajpayee
1 year, 328 days
Position not in use (22 May 2004 – present)  – 20 years, 200 days

Statistics

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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
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 (8 December 2024)
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

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Notes

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References

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