<Tr> <Th> Formation </Th> <Td> 15 August 1947 </Td> </Tr> <P> The Deputy Prime Minister of India is a member of the Union Cabinet in the Government of India . Not technically a constitutional office, it seldom carries any specific powers . A deputy prime minister usually also holds a key cabinet portfolio such as home minister or finance minister . In the parliamentary system of government, the prime minister is treated as the "first among equals" in the cabinet; the position of deputy prime minister is used to bring political stability and strength within a coalition government or in times of national emergency, when a proper chain of command is necessary . </P> <P> The first Deputy Prime Minister of India was Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who was also home minister in Jawaharlal Nehru's cabinet . The office has since been only intermittently occupied . The seventh and last deputy prime minister was L.K. Advani, who took on the role in addition to his home ministership from 2002 to 2004 in Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government . The current government does not have a Deputy Prime Minister . </P> <P> Many times there arose a proposal to make this post permanent, but nothing happened . The same goes to the post of Deputy Chief Minister in state level, </P>

Who was the first deputy prime minister of independent india