Deputy Prime Minister of India

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Last edited March 7, 2026


Template:Infobox official post

The deputy prime minister of India (IAST: Template:IAST), 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 deputizes for the prime minister in their absence.

The sitting deputy prime minister ranks fourth in the Order of Precedence of India[1] and is nominated by prime minister and appointed by the president of India.

The longest-serving deputy prime minister was the first deputy prime minister, Vallabhbhai Patel, whose tenure lasted 3 years and 122 days. His premiership was followed by Morarji Desai, Charan Singh, Jagjivan Ram, Yashwantrao Chavan, Devi Lal and L.K. Advani.

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 1950 India has had 7 deputy prime ministers, of which none having at least one full term.

Origins and history

India follows a parliamentary system in which the deputy prime minister is the presiding deputy head of the government and deputy chief of the executive of the government. The deputy prime minister must become a member of parliament within six months of beginning their tenure, if they are not one already.

1947–1950

Since 1947, there have been 7 different deputy prime ministers. 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.

1967–1969

After Patel, 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.

After Desai, the post was vacant again for almost 10 years.

1979–1980

In less than a year there were 3 different deputy prime ministers, Charan Singh and Jagjivan Ram became deputy prime ministers simultaneously under one ministry, and they were consecutively followed by Yashwantrao Chavan without any break, who became deputy prime minister in a different ministry.

After Chavan, the post was vacant again for almost 10 years.

1989–1991

Devi Lal is the only deputy prime minister to represent both parties in the same post. The post was vacant for 100 days between the two terms of Devi Lal.

After Lal, the post was vacant again for more than 11 years.

2002–2004

Lal Krishna Advani was the seventh person to serve as the deputy prime minister of India, until the post became vacant.

List

Key
Template:Party index link (1)Template:PadTemplate:Party index link (2)Template:PadTemplate:Party index link (1) Template:PadTemplate:Party index link (1)Template:PadTemplate:Party index link (2)Template:PadTemplate:Party index link (1)
Portrait Name
(bornTemplate:Spaced ndashdied)
Constituency 		Term of office
Template:Smaller 		Other ministerial offices held Political party Ministry Prime Minister
rowspan="2" bgcolor="Template:Party color"| File:Vallabhbhai Patel 1975 stamp of India.jpg Vallabhbhai PatelTemplate:Small 15 August

1947

Template:Small
1950Template:Ref label 		Template:Bulleted list Indian National Congress Nehru I Jawaharlal Nehru rowspan="2" bgcolor="Template:Party color"|
Template:Age in years and days
Template:Font color,
rowspan="2" bgcolor="Template:Party color"| File:Morarji Desai 1997 stamp of India.jpg Morarji DesaiTemplate:Small Template:Small
1967 		Template:Small
1969
Template:Ref label 		Template:Bulleted list Indian National Congress Indira II Indira Gandhi rowspan="2" bgcolor="Template:Party color"|
Template:Age in years and days
Template:Font color
rowspan="2" bgcolor="Template:Party color"| File:Charan Singh 1990 stamp of India.jpg Charan SinghTemplate:Small Template:Small
1979 		Template:Small
1979
Template:Ref label 		Template:Bulleted list Janata Party Desai Morarji Desai rowspan="4" bgcolor="Template:Party color"|
Template:Age in years and days
rowspan="2" bgcolor="Template:Party color"| File:Jagjivan Ram 1991 stamp of India.jpg Jagjivan RamTemplate:Small Template:Small
1979 		Template:Small
1979
Template:Ref label 		Template:Bulleted list
Template:Age in years and days
rowspan="2" bgcolor="Template:Party color"| File:Yashwantrao Chavan 2010 stamp of India.jpg Yashwantrao Chavan
Template:Small 		Template:Small
1979 		Template:Small
1980 		Template:Bulleted list Indian National Congress (Urs) Charan Charan Singh rowspan="2" bgcolor="Template:Party color"|
Template:Age in years and days
Template:Font color
rowspan="2" bgcolor="Template:Party color"| File:Chaudhary Devi Lal 2001 stamp of India.jpg Devi LalTemplate:Small Template:Small
1989 		Template:Small
1990
Template:Ref label 		Template:Bulleted list Janata Dal Singh V. P. Singh rowspan="2" bgcolor="Template:Party color"|
Template:Age in years and days
Template:Font color
rowspan="2" bgcolor="Template:Party color"| File:Chaudhary Devi Lal 2001 stamp of India.jpg Devi LalTemplate:Small Template:Small
1990 		Template:Small
1991
Template:Ref label 		Template:Bulleted list Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya) Shekhar Chandra Shekhar rowspan="2" bgcolor="Template:Party color"|
Template:Age in years and days
Template:Font color
rowspan="2" bgcolor="Template:Party color"| File:Lkadvani.jpg Lal Krishna AdvaniTemplate:Small Template:Small
2002 		Template:Small
2004 		Template:Bulleted list Bharatiya Janata Party Vajpayee III Atal Bihari Vajpayee rowspan="2" bgcolor="Template:Party color"|
Template:Age in years and days
Template:Font color

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 rowspan=2 style="background-color:Template:Party color"| INC 3 years, 122 days
2 Morarji Desai 2 years, 128 days
3 Lal Krishna Advani style="background-color:Template:Party color"| BJP 1 year, 328 days
4 Devi Lal style="background-color:Template:Party color"| JD style="background-color:Template:Party color"| SJP(R) 242 days 1 year, 100 days
5 Jagjivan Ram rowspan=2 style="background-color:Template:Party color"| JP 185 days
6 Charan Singh 173 days
7 Yashwantrao Chavan style="background-color:Template:Party color"| INC(U) 170 days
Timeline

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Colors= 

id:bjp    value:rgb(1,0.6,0.2) legend:BJP
id:inc    value:rgb(0,0.74902,1) legend:INC
id:incu   value:rgb(0.46666,0.46666,1) legend:INC(U)
id:jd     value:rgb(0.18039,0.54509,0.34117) legend:JD
id:jp     value:rgb(0.12156,0.45882,0.99607) legend:JP
id:sjpr   value:rgb(0.45490,0.76470,0.39607) legend:SJP(R)
id:vacant value:black legend: Vacant
id:gray1  value:gray(0.8)
id:gray2  value:gray(0.9)

Define $today = 29/07/2026

DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:15/08/1947 till:$today TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMinor = gridcolor:gray2 unit:year increment:1 start:1948 ScaleMajor = gridcolor:gray1 unit:year increment:5 start:1948

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text: Political Party

BarData = 

bar:Patel
bar:Vacant
bar:Desai
bar:Singh
bar:Ram
bar:Chavan
bar:Lal
bar:Advani

PlotData = 

width:5 align:left fontsize:S shift:(5,-4) anchor:till

bar:Patel
from: 15/08/1947 till: 15/12/1950 color:inc text:"Patel" fontsize:10
bar:Vacant
from: 16/12/1950 till: 12/03/1967 color:vacant
from: 20/07/1969 till: 23/01/1979 color:vacant
from: 14/01/1980 till: 01/12/1989 color:vacant
from: 01/08/1990 till: 09/11/1990 color:vacant
from: 22/06/1991 till: 28/06/2002 color:vacant
from: 23/05/2004 till: $today color:vacant text:"Vacant" fontsize:10
bar:Desai
from: 13/03/1967 till: 19/07/1969 color:inc text:"Desai" fontsize:10
bar:Singh
from: 24/01/1979 till: 16/07/1979 color:jp text:"Singh" fontsize:10
bar:Ram
from: 24/01/1979 till: 28/07/1979 color:jp text:"Ram" fontsize:10
bar:Chavan
from: 28/07/1979 till: 14/01/1980 color:incu text:"Chavan" fontsize:10
bar:Lal
from: 02/12/1989 till: 01/08/1990 color:jd
from: 10/11/1990 till: 21/06/1991 color:sjpr text:"Lal" fontsize:10
bar:Advani
from: 29/06/2002 till: 22/05/2004 color:bjp text:"Advani" fontsize:10

</timeline>

Lifespan of deputy prime ministers

<timeline> Define $width = 1000 Define $warning = 900 # $width - 155 Define $height = 450 # 14x20 + 160

Define $start = 1875 Define $end = 29/07/2026 Define $now = 29/07/2026

DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy

ImageSize = width:$width height:$height PlotArea = right:10 left:1 bottom:80 top:60 Period = from:$start till:$end TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal Legend = orientation:vertical columns:1 left:0 top:50 columnwidth:500

Colors = 

    id:bg value:white
    id:lightline      value:rgb(0.9, 0.9, 0.9)
    id:lighttext      value:rgb(0.5, 0.5, 0.5)
    id:LIFESPAN       value:rgb(0.88, 0.90, 0.70) Legend: Lifespan
    id:vacant         value:black legend: Vacant
    id:DPM_INC        value:rgb(0, 0.74902, 1) Legend: Indian_National_Congress
    id:DPM_INCU       value:rgb(0.46666,0.46666,1) Legend:INC(U)
    id:DPM_JP         value:blue Legend: Janata_Party
    id:DPM_JD         value:kelleygreen Legend: Janata_Dal
    id:DPM_SJP(R)     value:green Legend: Samajwadi_Janata_Party_(Rashtriya)
    id:DPM_BJP        value:rgb(1, 0.6, 0.2) Legend: Bharatiya_Janata_Party
    id:NAME           value:rgb(0.15, 0.13, 0.05) 
    id:TODAY          value:green

BackgroundColors = canvas:bg ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightline unit:year increment:1 start:$start ScaleMajor = gridcolor:lighttext unit:year increment:10 start:1880

Define $dy = -5 # shift text to button side of bar

LineData= 

  at:$now color:TODAY width:0.1

PlotData= 

 bar:1 width:18
   color:LIFESPAN align:center fontsize:M
   from:30/10/1875 till:15/12/1947 shift:(-0,$dy) textcolor:NAME align:left text:Vallabhbhai Patel
   color:DPM_INC
   from:15/08/1947 till:15/12/1950
   
 bar:2 width:18
   color:LIFESPAN align:center fontsize:M
   color:vacant
   from:15/12/1950 till:12/03/1967
  
 bar:3 width:18
   color:LIFESPAN align:center fontsize:M
   from:29/02/1896 till:10/04/1995 shift:(-0,$dy) textcolor:NAME text: Morarji Desai
   color:DPM_INC
   from:13/03/1967 till:19/07/1969

 bar:2 width:18
   color:LIFESPAN align:center fontsize:M
   color:vacant
   from:20/07/1969 till:23/01/1979
   
 bar:4 width:18
   color:LIFESPAN align:center fontsize:M
   from:23/12/1902 till:29/05/1987 shift:(-0,$dy) textcolor:NAME text:Charan Singh
   color:DPM_JP
   from:24/01/1979 till:16/07/1979

 bar:5 width:18
   color:LIFESPAN align:center fontsize:M
   from:15/04/1908 till:06/07/1986 shift:(-0,$dy) textcolor:NAME text:Jagjivan Ram
   color:DPM_JP
   from:24/01/1979 till:28/07/1979

 bar:6 width:18
   color:LIFESPAN align:center fontsize:M
   from:12/03/1913 till:25/11/1984 shift:(-0,$dy) textcolor:NAME text:Yashwantrao Chavan
   color:DPM_INCU
   from:28/07/1979 till:14/01/1980

 bar:2 width:18
   color:LIFESPAN align:center fontsize:M
   color:vacant
   from:14/01/1980 till:01/12/1989

 bar:7 width:18
   color:LIFESPAN align:center fontsize:M
   from:25/09/1915 till:06/04/2001 shift:(-0,$dy) textcolor:NAME text:Devi Lal
   color:DPM_JD
   from:02/12/1989 till:01/08/1990
   color:DPM_SJP(R)
   from:10/11/1990 till:21/06/1991

 bar:2 width:18
   color:LIFESPAN align:center fontsize:M
   color:vacant
   from:01/08/1990 till:09/11/1990
   from:22/06/1991 till:28/06/2002

 bar:8 width:18
   color:LIFESPAN align:center fontsize:M
   from:08/11/1927 till:$now shift:(-0,$dy) textcolor:NAME text:L. K. Advani
   color:DPM_BJP
   from:29/06/2002 till:22/05/2004

 bar:2 width:18
   color:LIFESPAN align:center fontsize:M
   color:vacant
   from:22/05/2004 till:$now

TextData = 

 fontsize:M
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 text:Updated 2026

TextData = 

  pos:(250,$height)
  fontsize:L
  textcolor:black
  text:"Lifespan and terms of office of each deputy prime minister of India"

</timeline>

List by party

Template:Pie chart

Political parties by total timespan of their member holding Deputy Prime Minister's Office
(Template:Date)
Template:Tooltip 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 Dal 1 242 days
4 Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya) 1 223 days
5 Janata Party 2 185 days
6 Indian National Congress (Urs) 1 170 days

Parties by total duration (in days) of holding Deputy Prime Minister's Office

Script error: No such module "Chart".

See also

Notes

Template:Notelist

References

  1. ↑ Table of Precedence. Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. President's Secretariat(26 July 1979). Retrieved 24 September 2017.

Template:Deputy Prime Ministers of India Template:Union ministries of India

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