The Story
An Office Held by Only Seven
"Unlike the Prime Ministership, the office of Deputy Prime Minister has no constitutional mandate — it exists only when a Prime Minister chooses to create it."
The Deputy Prime Ministers of India Theme File covers all seven individuals who have held the post — from Vallabhbhai Patel, India's first, to L.K. Advani, its most recent — across 13 notes.
Because the office is discretionary, long stretches of Indian political history have passed with no Deputy Prime Minister at all — making this one of the rarer offices in this entire collection series.
"Only 7 people have ever held this office in 78 years of the Republic."
