Created by 59.98.243.183
Last edited March 21, 2026


The vice president of India is the second highest constitutional office in the government of India after the president. In accordance with Article 63 of the Constitution of India, the vice president discharges the functions of the president when a contingency arises due to the resignation, removal, death, impeachment or the inability of the president to discharge their functions. They are also the ex officio chairperson of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India.[1][2]

The vice president is elected by an electoral college consisting of all the members of both houses of the Parliament in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote via a secret ballot conducted by the Election Commission of India. Once elected the vice president continues in office for a five-year term, but can continue in office irrespective of the expiry of the term, until a successor assumes office.[3] They can be removed by a resolution passed by an effective majority in the Rajya Sabha.[4] They are responsible for the protection of the rights and privileges of the members of the Council of States. They also decide whether a bill introduced in the Rajya Sabha is a financial bill or not.[1]

There have been 13 vice presidents since the inception of the post in 1950. The first vice president of India, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, took oath at Rashtrapati Bhavan on 13 May 1952.[5] He later served as the president.[6] Following the death of Zakir Husain in 1969, V. V. Giri resigned from the post of vice president to contest the presidential election and got elected.[7] Out of 13 vice presidents, six of them later went on to become the president.[7] Krishna Kant has been the only one to die during his tenure.[8] On 11 August 2017, Venkaiah Naidu was sworn in as the 13th vice president of India.[9] He is also the first vice-president to be born after Independent India is formed.

List of vice presidents of India

Key

Died in office-Died in office
Did not complete assigned term-Resigned

No. Portrait Name Took office Left office Term[10] President Election Party
1 Error creating thumbnail: File missing Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan 13 May 1952 12 May 1957 9 years, 364 days Rajendra Prasad 1952 Independent
13 May 1957 12 May 1962 1957
2 Zakir Hussain Zakir Husain 13 May 1962 12 May 1967 4 years, 364 days Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan 1962
3 V.V. Giri V. V. Giri Did not complete assigned term 13 May 1967 3 May 1969 1 year, 355 days Zakir Hussain 1967
4 Gopal Swarup Pathak 31 August 1969 30 August 1974 4 years, 364 days V. V. Giri 1969
Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed
5 File:Thiru. B.D. JATTI.jpg B. D. Jatti 31 August 1974 30 August 1979 4 years, 364 days Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed 1974 Indian National Congress
Neelam Sanjiva Reddy
6 Mohammad Hidayatullah 31 August 1979 30 August 1984 4 years, 365 days Neelam Sanjiva Reddy 1979 Independent
Zail Singh
7 Error creating thumbnail: File missing Ramaswamy Venkataraman Did not complete assigned term 31 August 1984 24 July 1987 2 years, 327 days Zail Singh 1984 Indian National Congress
8 Error creating thumbnail: File missing Shankar Dayal Sharma Did not complete assigned term 3 September 1987 24 July 1992 4 years, 325 days Ramaswamy Venkataraman 1987
9 K.R. Narayanan K. R. Narayanan Did not complete assigned term 21 August 1992 24 July 1997 4 years, 337 days Shankar Dayal Sharma 1992
10 Error creating thumbnail: File missing Krishan KantDied in office 21 August 1997 27 July 2002 4 years, 340 days K. R. Narayanan 1997 Janata Dal
A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
11 Bhairon Singh Shekhawat Bhairon Singh Shekhawat Did not complete assigned term 19 August 2002 21 July 2007 4 years, 336 days A. P. J. Abdul Kalam 2002 Bharatiya Janata Party
12 Hamid Ansari Mohammad Hamid Ansari 11 August 2007 10 August 2012 9 years, 364 days Pratibha Patil 2007 Indian National Congress
11 August 2012 10 August 2017 Pranab Mukherjee 2012
Ram Nath Kovind
13 Error creating thumbnail: File missing Venkaiah Naidu 11 August 2017 Incumbent 9 years, 8 days Ram Nath Kovind 2017 Bharatiya Janata Party

Statistics

Representation of vice presidents by party of candidacy

  Independent (38.5%)
  Indian National Congress (38.5%)
  Bharatiya Janata Party (15.4%)
  Janata Dal (7.7%)

Timeline

Timeline
Venkaiah NaiduMohammad Hamid AnsariBhairon Singh ShekhawatKrishan KantK. R. NarayananShankar Dayal SharmaRamaswamy VenkataramanMohammad HidayatullahB. D. JattiGopal Swarup PathakV. V. GiriZakir Husain (politician)Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan

See also

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Powers and responsibilities of Vice President of India". News Nation. 17 July 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  2. Jha, Jitesh (8 August 2017). "Fact Box: Vice President of India". Dainik Jagran. Archived from the original on 5 December 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  3. Relhan, Vibhor (5 August 2017). "Following the elections of the Vice President of India". PRS Legislative Research. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  4. "The Upper House of Indian Parliament". Rajya Sabha. Archived from the original on 7 April 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  5. "From Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan to Venkaiah Naidu: All the Vice Presidents of India". The Times of India. 5 August 2017. Archived from the original on 11 September 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  6. Greenhouse, Linda (17 April 1975). "Radhakrishnan of India, Philosopher, Dead at 86". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 12 December 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  7. 7.0 7.1 "Venkaiah Naidu vs Gopalkrishna Gandhi: 6 vice-presidents who went on to become presidents". India Today. 18 July 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  8. Jafri, Syed Amin (27 July 2002). "Krishan Kant is first vice-president to die in office". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 16 December 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  9. "Venkaiah Naidu sworn in as Vice-President". The Hindu. 11 August 2017. Archived from the original on 9 February 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  10. "Former Vice Presidents | Vice President of India | Government of India". vicepresidentofindia.nic.in. Retrieved 28 October 2021.

External links

Template:Vice Presidents of India