Deputy Prime Minister of India

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The Deputy Prime Minister of India is a member of the Indian cabinet in the Indian government. The post is not a constitutional post and seldom carries any specific powers. Generally a Deputy PM also holds other key portfolios like Home Minister or Finance Minister. Though the Indian Constitution does not specify the position and with the Prime Minister himself being treated as "first among equals" in the cabinet, the position of DPM is sometimes used by governments to bring political stability and strength by including a powerful individual, or in times of national emergency, when a proper chain of command is necessary. The first Deputy Prime Minister was Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. The last person to hold this post was Lal Krishna Advani of the previous government. The current government does not have a Deputy Prime Minister.

The Deputy Prime Minister in reality has no power except chairing the Cabinet meetings in the absence of the PM. Only if the PM is taken ill seriously, incapacitated or in the event of his death, does the DPM take the same level of responsibility.

[edit] List of Deputy Prime Ministers of India

1 List of Deputy Prime Ministers of India

Party
	Indian National Congress
	Janata Party
	Janata Dal
	Bharatiya Janata Party

Name		Entered office	Left office	Date of Birth and Death	Political party
1	Sardar Patel	15 August 1947	15 December 1950 *	31 October 1875 – 15 December 1950	Indian National Congress
2	Morarji Desai	21 March 1967	6 December 1969 **	29 February 1896 – 10 April 1995	Indian National Congress
3	Choudhary Charan Singh	28 July 1979	9 October 1979 **	23 December 1902 - 29 May 1987	Janata Party
4	Jagjivan Ram	9 October 1979	10 December 1979	5 April 1908 - 6 July 1986	Janata Party
5	Yashwantrao Chavan	10 December 1979	14 January 1980 ***	12 March 1913 - 25 November 1984	Janata Party
6	Chaudhari Devi Lal	19 October 1989	21 June 1991	23 July 1914 - 14 November 2001	Janata Dal
7	Lal Krishna Advani	29 June 2002	20 May 2004	8 November 1927 - present	Bharatiya Janata Party