Deputy Prime Minister
Topic: Union Executive: President, Vice-President, Prime Minister and Council of Ministers · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 1 "Challenges of Nation Building"; Class 12, Ch 5 "Challenges to and Restoration of the Congress System"; Class 12, Ch 6 "The Crisis of Democratic Order"
Meaning
The Deputy Prime Minister is a post that is not mentioned in the Constitution. The holder is a minister who gets the title for political reasons, such as honouring a senior leader or holding a coalition together. The title carries no extra constitutional powers. Seven people have held it.
Example
Sardar Patel was India's first Deputy Prime Minister (1947-50) and also held the Home Ministry. The most recent was L.K. Advani (2002-04) under Prime Minister Vajpayee.
Don't confuse with
- Interim Prime Minister: this is a stop-gap PM sworn in after a PM's death, as Gulzarilal Nanda was in 1964 and 1966. A Deputy PM serves under a sitting PM and does not take over automatically if the PM dies.
Related concepts
- Prime Minister of India
- Six-month rule for non-member ministers
- S.R. Chaudhuri case
- Primus inter pares
- Kitchen cabinet