indian polity book series 18

Vice Presidents - Analysis

Vice Presidents who became Presidents

• Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
• Zakir Husain
• V.V. Giri
• R. Venkataraman
• Shankar Dayal Sharma
• K.R. Narayanan

Vice Presidents who did not become Presidents

• G.S. Pathak
• B.D. Jatti
• Justice Hidayatullah
• Krishan Kant
• Bhairon Singh Shekhawat
• Hamid Ansari

Unanimously Elected Vice Presidents (S-M-S)

• Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
• M. Hidayatullah
• Shankar Dayal Sharma

Vice Presidents who served as Governors of Andhra Pradesh

• Shankar Dayal Sharma
• Krishan Kant

1) Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan

• First Vice President to be elected unanimously for two terms.
• First person to hold the office of Vice President for two terms.
• First Vice President of India.
• First Chairman of Rajya Sabha.
• Vice President who served for the 'longest period'.
• First person to become President after serving as Vice President.

2) Zakir Husain

• First Muslim Vice President.
• Second person to become President after holding the office of Vice President.
• Vice President elected with the narrowest majority.

3) V.V. Giri

• First Vice President to serve as interim President.
• First person to become President after serving as interim President.
• First Vice President to resign from office during his term.
• Vice President who served for the 'shortest period'.
• The only person to hold the positions of Vice President, interim President, and President.

4) G.S. Pathak

• First Vice President who did not become President.
• As interim President, administered the oath to the first non-Congress government (Janata Government).
• Took office as Vice President at the youngest age.

5) B.D. Jatti

• No specific analysis points provided in the text.

6) Mohammad Hidayatullah

• The only person to become Vice President after serving as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
• Second unanimously elected Vice President.
• The only person to serve as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Vice President, and interim President.

7) R. Venkataraman

• 4th person to become President after serving as Vice President.

8) Shankar Dayal Sharma

• 3rd unanimously elected Vice President.
• First person to become Vice President after serving as Governor of Andhra Pradesh.

9) K.R. Narayanan

• First Dalit Vice President.
• Vice President elected with the largest majority.

10) Krishan Kant

• Second person to become Vice President after serving as Governor of Andhra Pradesh.
• First Vice President to die in office.

11) Bhairon Singh Shekhawat

• Vice President who contested and lost the presidential election while in office.
• Took office as Vice President at the oldest age.

12) Hamid Ansari

• Second person to be elected Vice President for two terms.

13) M. Venkaiah Naidu

• 13th Vice President (13th person, 15th by term).
• First person from Andhra Pradesh to hold the office of Vice President.
• Born in Chavatapalem, Nellore district.
• Took oath as Vice President on August 11, 2017.
• Gopal Krishna Gandhi lost against him.
• Venkaiah Naidu worked as MLA for Udayagiri (Nellore) twice in Andhra Pradesh (1978-85).
• S.K. Sharif, Secretary-General of Rajya Sabha, acted as the Returning Officer for the recent 15th Vice Presidential election.
• Venkaiah Naidu received 516 out of 760 valid votes as Vice Presidential candidate, securing 67.89% of votes.
• Took oath as the 13th Vice President in the Durbar Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan.
• President Ram Nath Kovind administered the oath of office to Venkaiah Naidu as Vice President.
• Actively participated in the Jai Andhra movement in 1972.
• Arrested and imprisoned during the Emergency in 1975.
• At the time of election as Vice President, he was a Rajya Sabha member from Rajasthan, and Union Minister for Urban Development - Urban Poverty Alleviation.
• First person to be elected Chairman (Vice President) of the Rajya Sabha while continuing as a member of the Rajya Sabha.
• Among Vice Presidents, he continued as a Rajya Sabha member for the longest period, four times.
• Rajya Sabha MP from Karnataka in 1998.
• Rajya Sabha MP from Karnataka in 2004.
• Rajya Sabha MP from Karnataka in 2010.
• Rajya Sabha MP from Rajasthan in 2016.
• Voted for himself in the Vice Presidential election.

Positions held by Venkaiah Naidu:

• Union Minister for Rural Development in Vajpayee's Cabinet (2002).
• BJP National President (2002-04).
• Union Minister for Urban Development, Information and Broadcasting, and Parliamentary Affairs in Modi's Cabinet (2014-17).

Prime Minister

• The post of Prime Minister is derived from the Constitution of England.
• The Prime Minister is the real head of government.
• Leader of the Union Council of Ministers.
• Link between the Union Council of Ministers and the President (Article 78).
• Advises the President on the allocation and reshuffling of portfolios to Union Ministers.
• Advises the Cabinet Secretary to decide the agenda of Cabinet meetings.
• Presides over Cabinet meetings.
• Leader of Parliament.
• Advises the President on the appointment of key government officials.
• Leader of the majority party in Lok Sabha.

Note: Not necessarily required to be the leader of Lok Sabha.

• Chairman of NITI Aayog.
• Chairman of the National Development Council, National Integration Council, Inter-State Council.
• Chairman of the Political Affairs Committee, International Affairs Committee, Appointments Committee.

Note: Despite the above importance, the Prime Minister's position becomes weaker due to the formation of coalition governments.

Articles in the Constitution related to the Prime Minister are three: Articles 74(1), 75(1), 78

• 74(1): There shall be a Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister to aid and advise the President in the exercise of his functions.
• 75(1): Appointment of the Prime Minister. The President appoints the Prime Minister from the majority party leader in Lok Sabha.

Note: Prime Minister is appointed, not elected.

In case no party gets an absolute majority, the President appoints either a leader who is likely to form a stable government or the leader of a coalition.

Ex: After the 1989 elections, as no party got a majority, V.P. Singh, who led the National Front coalition, was appointed as Prime Minister.

The President can also appoint a person who is not a member of either House as Prime Minister. However, within 6 months, they must get elected to either House of Parliament and win the confidence of Lok Sabha.

Ex 1: P.V. Narasimha Rao, who was not a member of any House, was appointed as Prime Minister. Later, he was elected to Lok Sabha from Nandyal.

Ex 2: Deve Gowda, who was not a member of any House, was appointed Prime Minister and later elected to Rajya Sabha.

The Prime Minister need not be a member of Lok Sabha. A Rajya Sabha member can also be appointed as Prime Minister.

Ex: Indira Gandhi, Deve Gowda, Gujral, Manmohan Singh.

Note: To be appointed as Prime Minister of England, one must be a member of the Lower House.

If the Prime Minister is removed from office, the leader of the opposition may be invited to form the government.

Ex: When Morarji Desai resigned, the then opposition leader Y.B. Chavan was invited to form the government. But as he declined, Charan Singh was appointed as Prime Minister.

Y. B. Chavan

• The Prime Minister is administered the oath of office by the President.
• The Prime Minister takes an oath to protect official secrets.
• The Prime Minister remains in office as long as they enjoy the confidence of Lok Sabha.

Circumstances under which the Prime Minister is removed:

• When a motion of no-confidence is defeated in Lok Sabha.

Note: In 1990, V.P. Singh's government resigned due to the defeat of the motion of no-confidence in Lok Sabha. In 1997 for H.D. Deve Gowda, and in 1999 for Atal Bihari Vajpayee, they also lost their Prime Ministership due to the defeat of the no-confidence motion.

• When the Annual Financial Statement (Budget) / Finance Bill is rejected in Lok Sabha.
• When a cut motion is passed in the budget sessions.
• Even if the motion of thanks to the President's address is defeated, the entire Council of Ministers led by the Prime Minister must resign.
• The Prime Minister submits their resignation to the President.

Who became the Prime Minister of India after V.P. Singh (1) (AP Constables Prelims-2016)

1. Chandrasekhar
2. Charan Singh
3. Rajiv Gandhi
4. H.D. Deve Gowda

Answer: 1) Chandrasekhar

Sayings about Prime Minister Position - Prominent Quotes

• "Prime Minister is the 'Keystone of the Cabinet Arch'" - Munro
• "Prime Minister is the 'driver who drives the wheel called Cabinet'" - Ramsay Muir
• "Prime Minister is the 'Captain of the ship of the State'" - Lowell
• "Prime Minister is the 'linchpin of the governmental machinery'" - Nehru
• "Prime Minister is the 'foundation stone of the cabinet edifice'" - Gladstone
• "Government revolves around the Prime Minister as an axis" - H.J. Laski
• "Prime Minister is an elected monarch" - Hinton
• "Prime Minister is the Sun in the solar system" - Ivor Jennings
• "Prime Minister is the moon among the stars" - Morrison
• "Prime Minister is first among equals (Primus Inter Pares)" - Lord Morley

The official residence of the Indian Prime Minister is named - Seven Race Course Road.

The road where the Prime Minister's official residence is located is named - Lok Kalyan Marg.

Prime Ministers - No Confidence Motion

• No confidence motion passed in Lok Sabha.

Note: First no-confidence motion was introduced against Nehru's government. But the motion was defeated.

Note: In one term, P.V. Narasimha Rao faced the highest number of no-confidence motions, 8 times. But all times, the motions were defeated.

• If government bills are not passed, the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers must resign.
• If a private member's bill is passed despite government opposition, the government falls.

Indian Prime Ministers

Sl. No.	Prime Minister	State	Term of Office
1	Jawaharlal Nehru	Uttar Pradesh	1947 - 64
2	Lal Bahadur Shastri	Uttar Pradesh	1964 - 66
3	Indira Gandhi	Uttar Pradesh	1966 - 77
4	Morarji Desai	Gujarat	1977 - 79
5	Charan Singh	Uttar Pradesh	1979 - 80
6	Indira Gandhi	Uttar Pradesh	1980 - 84
7	Rajiv Gandhi	Maharashtra	1984 - 89
8	V.P. Singh	Uttar Pradesh	1989 - 90
9	Chandra Shekhar	Uttar Pradesh	1990 - 91
10	P.V. Narasimha Rao	Telangana	1991 - 96
11	A.B. Vajpayee	Madhya Pradesh	1996 - 96
12	H.D. Deve Gowda	Karnataka	1996 - 97
13	I.K. Gujral	Punjab (Pakistan)	1997 - 98
14	A.B. Vajpayee	Madhya Pradesh	1998 - 2004
15	Manmohan Singh	Punjab	2004 - 2014
16	Narendra Modi	Gujarat	2014 - Present

Prime Ministers - Analysis

1) Jawaharlal Nehru:

• First Prime Minister of India.
• Served as Prime Minister for the longest period (16 years and 286 days).
• First Prime Minister to receive 'Bharat Ratna'.
• First Prime Minister to die in office.
• Prime Minister who addressed the nation from Red Fort for the most times.
• Panchsheel Agreement (1954) took place during his tenure.
• Formulated the Non-Aligned Movement.
• Prime Minister during the 1962 Sino-Indian War.
• Prime Minister when the National Emergency was declared for the first time.
• Author of 'A Bunch of Old Letters', 'Discovery of India', 'Glimpses of World History'.
• Initiated the Panchayati Raj system (1959).
• Took oath as Prime Minister four times. Architect of the economic system, implemented socialism in a democratic way.
• First Prime Minister to face a no-confidence motion.
• Prime Minister who formed the smallest cabinet.
• Prime Minister who hoisted the national flag the most times.
• First Chairman of the Planning Commission.
• Architect of the mixed economy.
• Implemented socialism in a democratic way.
• Architect of planning in our country.

His residence - Teen Murti Bhavan.

Titles - Ambassador of Peace, Chacha.

Samadhi (Memorial) - Shantivan.

After Nehru's death, Gulzarilal Nanda served as interim Prime Minister (from May 27 to June 9, 1964).