Deputy Prime Minister of Vishwamitra

Deputy Prime Minister of Vishwamitra विश्वामित्र के उप-प्रधानमंत्री (Hindi)
Coat of arms of Vishwamitra
Incumbent Farhaz Hazarika since 29 March 2024 Mahir Samarth since 12 May 2024
Government of Vishwamitra
Style	His/Her Excellency
Member of	Cabinet Cabinet Committee on Security Lok Sabha
Reports to	Prime Minister
Appointer	Rashtradhyaksh on the advice of the Prime Minister
Term length	At the pleasure of the Rashtradhyaksh
Formation	15 April 2007; 17 years ago
First holder	Varuna Sriraya

The Deputy Prime Minister of Vishwamitra (Hindi: विश्वामित्र के उप-प्रधानमंत्री) is the second highest ranking minister of the Union of the Government of Vishwamitra and is a senior member of the union council of ministers. The office holder occassionally deputises for the prime minister in their absence.

The office was first created on 15 April 2007 in the cabinet of Arnisha Phatowali for Varuna Sriraya who served as the deputy prime minister between 2007 and 2009. The office has since then been only intermittently occupied. The position remained vacant following the resignation of Arnisha Phatowali in December 2009 till the re-introduction of the office by prime minister Varuna Sriraya when he formed his third ministry in April 2016 appointing Anoushkaa Patranabish as his deputy.

The current deputy prime minister is Farhaz Hazarika who was appointed on 29 March 2024 after he stepped down as prime minister and was succeeded by his former deputy, Klarissa Sriraya. On 12 May 2024, Mahir Samarth was appointed as second deputy prime minister, while Farhaz Hazarika was designated as first deputy prime minister.

History

The position of deputy prime minister was first introduced by the first prime minister Arnisha Phatowali on 15 April 2007 who had appointed Varuna Sriraya as her deputy who would then succeed her as prime minister and as well as National leader. Following the appointment and subsequent election of Varuna Sriraya as prime minister in January 2010, the position of deputy prime minister ceased to exist despite possibility for Tanishkaa Patranabish to be named as his deputy.

The position would remain unused for the next 6 years until being re-introduced on 11 April 2016 by prime minister Varuna Sriraya following his return as prime minister. He appointed Anoushkaa Patranabish as deputy prime minister and also as the Minister of Sanitation and Cleanliness Campaign. Following her election as the president on 2 October 2016, she was replaced by her elder sister and her presidential predecessor Tanishkaa Patranabish who remained as deputy prime minister till February 2017. In February 2017, Tanishkaa Patranabish was removed from the cabinet and Abhiraj Kar was appointed as her successor. Following the collapse of the coalition between the Secular Party and the Independent Party in April 2017, Klarissa Sriraya became the prime minister and she appointed her coalition party leader Arnab Sil as the deputy prime minister.

In July 2017, the general election resulted in a hung parliament with the Secular Party emerging as the single-largest party winning fifteen of the thirty seats of the parliament. President Varuna Sriraya invited the leader of the single largest party Tanishkaa Patranabish to form the government and become prime minister and advised her to form an all-party government with the respective leaders of the other two parties - Klarissa Sriraya and Arnab Sil being appointed as her deputies. It was for the first time that two deputy premiers were appointed. In December the same year, Varuna Sriraya became the prime minister and appointed outgoing prime minister Tanishkaa Patranabish and Arnab Sil as his deputies. Arnab Sil was later replaced by Asmi Patranabis in March 2018. In the coup-government, Klarissa Sriraya served as the deputy prime minister being titled as Prime Minister of the Council.

The position was unused again between September 2018 and March 2019. Following the general election of March 2019, Bishnu Chetry and Arnab Sil were appointed as deputy prime ministers who served till July 2019 when they were appointed as inaugural senior ministers. Abhiraj Kar and Asmi Patranabis thereupon succeeded them and remained in office till September 2019. Following Abhiraj Kar's appointed as Governor of Beltola, he was replaced by Ankurjyoti Thakuria as deputy prime minister who served only for a month. Bishnu Chetry and Anoushkaa Patranabish were appointed as deputy prime ministers in October 2019 and continued to serve till March 2020. In the caretaker government of prime minister Anoushkaa Patranabish, Bishnu Chetry and Ankurjyoti Thakuria served as deputy prime minister. Bishnu Chetry, Anoushkaa Patranabish and Arnab Sil served as deputies in the cabinet of Tanishkaa Patranabish between March and April 2020. The position felt vacant following the introduction of executive presidency in May 2020.

In the cabinet of Princess Anoushkaa, she appointed Prince Abhiraj as her deputy who also briefly discharged the duties of the prime minister in August 2020. In the caretaker government of Ștefan Marius Snagoveanu, Liam Alexander was initially appointed as deputy prime minister however he resigned within hours of appointment and was succeeded by David Augustus. The position again felt vacant till 18 June 2021 when Farhaz Hazarika and Michal Nowacki were appointed as deputy prime ministers. Hazarika went on to become the next prime minister while Nowacki continued to serve as deputy prime minister.

With Hazarika's election as prime minister in the November general elections of 2021, he appointed Princess Anoushkaa as his deputy and later also appointed Michal Nowacki as the deputy prime minister who continued to serve till March 2022. The position thereupon felt vacant till May 2022 when Rory Leonard was appointed to the position. He served till July the same year and was replaced by Klarissa Sriraya who served from 31 July 2022 until becoming succeeding Hazarika as the prime minister on 29 March 2024. In addition, Mahir Samarth was also appointed as the deputy prime minister on 26 November 2022 and served until 29 March 2024. After stepping down as prime minister on 29 March 2024, Farhaz Hazarika was appointed as the deputy prime minister.

Role and functions

The deputy prime minister is the second highest ranking minister of the Union of the Government of Vishwamitra and is a senior member of the union council of ministers. Prior to July 2016, the deputy prime minister did not hold any ministerial portfolio, however since then the deputy prime ministers had held significant ministerial portfolios like home affairs, finance, defence, etc. The current deputy prime minister, Farhaz Hazarika holds the portfolio of home affairs.

The prime minister occasionally deputises the prime minister in case of their absence. Prince Abhiraj served as acting prime minister during the period of absence of prime minister Princess Anoushkaa between 20 and 31 July 2020. During that period, he presided over the Installation of Rashtradhyaksh II including reading the proclamation of election of the Rashtradhyaksh and the congratulatory message.

Article 34(6) of the Constitution of Vishwamitra specifies the following:

The Cabinet shall be composed of the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Ministers, Senior Ministers and Cabinet Ministers for the Union and the total number of members of the Union Cabinet shall not exceed for more than eight members including the Prime Minister.

The same article of the constitution also mentions that

The number of Deputy Prime Ministers at a time shall not exceed more than two.

List of deputy prime ministers

No.	Portrait		Name (born – died) Constituency	Tenure in office			Other ministerial offices held	Political party	Government
				From	To	Time in office
Children's Group / Friends Society (15 April 2007 – 7 June 2020)
1			His Excellency Varuna Sriraya (born 2002) Representative	15 April 2007	31 December 2009	7002991000000000000♠2 years, 260 days	Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Sports, and Child Welfare (2007-2008)	Independent	Phatowali
Position vacant during this interval
2 (1)			Her Excellency Anoushkaa Patranabish (born 2010) MP for Beltola II	11 April 2016	2 October 2016	7002174000000000000♠174 days	Minister of Sanitation and Cleanliness Campaign (Jul-Oct 2016)	Secular Party	Varuna III
3 (1)			Her Excellency Tanishkaa Patranabish (born 2004) MP for Beltola	2 October 2016	30 December 2016	7002138000000000000♠138 days	Minister of Finance, Corporate Affairs, and Salaries Minister of Home Affairs, Law and Justice (Nov-Dec 2016)
3 (2)				30 December 2016	17 February 2017		Minister of Home Affairs, Social Justice, and All Party Affairs		Varuna IV
4 (1)			His Excellency Abhiraj Kar (born 2006) MP for Vinovanagar	17 February 2017	12 April 2017	7001540000000000000♠54 days	Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Group Members Development	Independent Party
5 (1)			His Excellency Arnab Sil (born 2004) MP for Outer Goshala	12 April 2017	5 July 2017	7001840000000000000♠84 days	Minister of Home Affairs, Culture, and States	Freedom Party	Klarissa III
6 (1)			Her Excellency Klarissa Sriraya (born 2005) MP for Basant Bahar	5 July 2017	25 December 2017	7002173000000000000♠173 days	Minister of Home Affairs	Independent Party	Tanishkaa II
5 (2)			His Excellency Arnab Sil (born 2004) MP for Maligaon				Minister of External Affairs	Freedom Party
3 (3)			Her Excellency Tanishkaa Patranabish (born 2004) MP for Beltola	25 December 2017	21 March 2018	7001860000000000000♠86 days	Minister of Finance	Secular Party	Varuna V
5 (3)			His Excellency Arnab Sil (born 2004) MP for Maligaon				Minister of External Affairs, Information and Broadcasting	Freedom Party
3 (4)			Her Excellency Tanishkaa Patranabish (born 2004) MP for Beltola	21 March 2018	13 May 2018	7001530000000000000♠53 days	Minister of Finance	Secular Party	Varuna VI
7 (1)			Her Excellency Asmi Patranabis (born 2007) MP for Bhetapara				Minister of Parliamentary Affairs
6 (2)			Her Excellency Klarissa Sriraya (born 2005) MP for Basant Bahar	14 May 2018	12 October 2018	7002151000000000000♠151 days		Congress	Tanishkaa III
									Interim Varuna II
Position vacant during this interval
8 (1)			The Honourable Bishnu Chetry (born 2001) MP for Kalapani	17 March 2019	14 July 2019	7002119000000000000♠119 days	Minister of Home Affairs	Congress	Tanishkaa V
5 (4)			The Honourable Arnab Sil (born 2004) MP for Maligaon				Minister of External Affairs
4 (2)			The Honourable Abhiraj Kar (born 2006) MP for Bharat Sevashram	14 July 2019	1 September 2019	7001490000000000000♠49 days	Minister of Public Administration, Cooperation and Regional Development (until Aug 2019) Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Cooperation and Regional Development (from Aug 2019)
7 (2)			The Honourable Asmi Patranabis (born 2007) MP for Bhetapara		29 September 2019	7001770000000000000♠77 days	Minister of Finance Minister of Social Policies (Jul-Aug 2019) Minister of Communications and Technology (Aug-Sep 2019)
9 (1)			The Honourable Ankurjyoti Thakuria (born 2002) Not elected	2 September 2019		7001270000000000000♠27 days	Minister of Communications and Technology Minister of National Development (until Sep 2019) Minister of Home Affairs (from Sep 2019)
2 (2)			The Honourable Anoushkaa Patranabish (born 2010) MP for Basant Bahar	29 September 2019	24 November 2020	7001560000000000000♠56 days	Minister of Finance (until Nov 2019) Minister of Home Affairs (from Nov 2019)
8 (2)			The Honourable Bishnu Chetry (born 2001) MP for Kalapani		16 November 2019	7001480000000000000♠48 days	Minister of Home Affairs (until Nov 2019) Minister of External Affairs (from Nov 2019)
2 (3)			The Honourable Anoushkaa Patranabish (born 2010) MP for Basant Bahar	10 January 2020	3 March 2020	7001530000000000000♠53 days	Minister of Finance, and Minister of Economical and Statistical Development
8 (3)			The Honourable Bishnu Chetry (born 2001) MP for Kalapani				Minister of External Affairs, and Commonwealth Affairs and International Relations
9 (2)			The Right Honourable Ankurjyoti Thakuria (born 2002) Caretaker	3 March 2020	9 March 2020	7000600000000000000♠6 days	Minister of Finance, Personnel, Appointments and Administrative Reforms	Congress	Anoushkaa I (Caretaker)
8 (4)			The Right Honourable Bishnu Chetry (born 2001) Caretaker	9 March 2020	22 March 2020	7001130000000000000♠13 days	Minister of Home Affairs
2 (4)			The Right Honourable Anoushkaa Patranabish (born 2010) MP for Beltola Urban First Deputy Prime Minister	22 March 2020	30 April 2020	7001390000000000000♠39 days	Minister of Home Affairs		Tanishkaa VI
8 (5)			The Right Honourable Bishnu Chetry (born 2001) MP for Kalapani Second Deputy Prime Minister				Minister of External Affairs, Health
5 (5)			The Right Honourable Arnab Sil (born 2004) MP for Maligaon Third Deputy Prime Minister	29 March 2020		7001320000000000000♠32 days	Minister of National Defence (till Apr 2020) Minister of Finance, Planning (from Apr 2020)
Position vacant during this interval
Vishwamitra (8 June 2020 – present)
4 (3)			His Royal Highness Prince Abhiraj Senior Prince of Purvanchal (born 2006) MP for Bharat Sevashram	8 June 2020	21 August 2020	7001740000000000000♠74 days	Minister of Home Affairs (8-17 Jun 2020) Coordinating Minister of Political, Legal and Security Affairs (Jun-Aug 2020)	Congress	Anoushkaa II
Deputy Prime Minister Senior Prince Abhiraj discharged the functions of the Prime Minister between 21 and 30 August 2020.
4 (3)			His Royal Highness Prince Abhiraj Senior Prince of Purvanchal (born 2006) MP for Bharat Sevashram	31 August 2020	28 January 2021	7002150000000000000♠150 days	Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security	Congress	Anoushkaa II
10			His Excellency The Right Honourable Liam Alexander Baron Alexander (born 2005) Caretaker	28 January 2021		Less than a day	Minister of Finance, and Law and Justice	Royalist	Snagoveanu I (Caretaker)
11			His Excellency The Right Honourable David Augustus Duke of Osian (born 2007) Caretaker	28 January 2021	1 March 2021	7001320000000000000♠32 days	Minister of Defence, Finance, and Law and Justice
Position vacant during this interval
12 (1)			His Excellency The Right Honourable Farhaz Hazarika Duke of Pragjyotisha (born 2003) MP for Basistha City	18 June 2021	11 September 2021	7001850000000000000♠85 days	Minister of Home Affairs Minister of Education (Aug-Sep 2021)	Congress	Snagoveanu II
13 (1)			His Excellency The Right Honourable Michal Nowacki Duke of Stettin (born 2003) MP for National Capital Constituency			7002125000000000000♠125 days	Minister of Defence and Science, Technology and Innovation Minister of Cabinet Affairs (Jul-Sep 2021)
13 (2)				11 September 2021	21 October 2021		Minister of Defence and Cabinet Affairs		Hazarika I
Position vacant during this interval
2 (5)			Her Royal Highness Princess Anoushkaa of Beltola (born 2010) MP for Brikshasthana	22 November 2021	17 March 2022	7002115000000000000♠115 days	Minister of Home Affairs and Royal Household Affairs	Congress	Hazarika II
13 (3)			His Excellency The Right Honourable Admiral (Hon) Michal Nowacki Duke of Stettin (born 2003) Councillor for Kamrupa	31 January 2022		7001450000000000000♠45 days	Minister of External Affairs and Minister-in-charge of Crystal Jubilee Celebration Year
Position vacant during this interval
14			His Excellency The Right Honourable Major General Rory Leonard Duke of Griffith (born 2007) MP for Kalapani	12 May 2022	30 July 2022	7001790000000000000♠79 days	Minister of Defence Minister of Law and Justice and Cabinet Affairs (until Jun 2022) Minister of Information and Public Relations (from Jun 2022)	Independent	Hazarika III
6 (3)			Her Royal Highness Princess Klarissa Crown Princess of Purvanchal (born 2005) Non-elected (until Nov 2022) MP for Rashtra Niwas (from Nov 2022)	30 July 2022	11 November 2022	7002436000000000000♠1 year, 71 days	Minister of Home Affairs, Information and Public Relations
6 (4)				11 November 2022	9 October 2023		Minister of Home Affairs	Congress	Hazarika IV
15 (1)			His Excellency The Right Honourable Mahir Samarth (born 2002) MP for Kalapani	26 November 2022		7002489000000000000♠1 year, 124 days	Minister of National Defence, Parliamentary Affairs, Law and Justice (until Mar 2023) Minister of External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs (from Mar 2023)
6 (5)			Her Royal Highness Princess Klarissa Crown Princess of Purvanchal (born 2005) MP for Rashtra Niwas	9 October 2023	29 March 2024	7002172000000000000♠172 days	Minister of Finance (until Dec'2023) Minister of Home Affairs (from Dec'2023)		Hazarika V
15 (2)			His Excellency The Right Honourable Mahir Samarth (born 2002) MP for Srirajya				Minister of External Affairs, and Parliamentary Affairs
12 (2)			His Excellency Sri Rajanya Sukhaprada Colonel-Commandant Singhasri Farhaz Hazarika (born 2003)	29 March 2024	Incumbent	7002261000000000000♠261 days	Minister of Home Affairs		Klarissa IV
15 (3)			His Excellency Sri Rajanya Shahiraj General (Hon) Singhasri Mahir Samarth (born 2002)	12 May 2024		7002217000000000000♠217 days	Minister of External Affairs Minister for Relations with the Parliament and the Council of Ministers

Timeline

Time in office

• Longest serving: Varuna Sriraya - 2 years, 283 days
• Shortest serving: Liam Alexander - less than a day

Below is the list of Deputy Prime Ministers by total time in office:

1. Varuna Sriraya - 7002991000000000000♠2 years, 260 days
2. Klarissa Sriraya - 2 years, 202 days
3. Mahir Samarth - 7002706000000000000♠1 year, 341 days
4. Arnab Sil - 1 year, 129 days
5. Anoushkaa Patranabish - 1 year, 119 days
6. Abhiraj Kar - 327 days
7. Farhaz Hazarika – 7002346000000000000♠346 days
8. Tanishkaa Patranabish - 277 days
9. Bishnu Chetry - 272 days
10. Michal Nowacki - 170 days
11. Asmi Patranabis - 130 days
12. Rory Leonard - 7001790000000000000♠79 days
13. Ankurjyoti Thakuria - 33 days
14. David Augustus - 7001320000000000000♠32 days
15. Liam Alexander - less than a day

Trivia

• 15 individuals have served as deputy prime ministers till date, of whom 5 became prime ministers.
• 5 deputy prime ministers, viz. Varuna Sriraya in 2010, Tanishkaa Patranabish in 2018, Anoushkaa Patranabish in 2020, Farhaz Hazarika in 2021, and Klarissa Sriraya in 2024, became prime ministers immediately after serving as deputy prime ministers.
• Prime Minister Tanishkaa Patranabish in her fifth term in office (Mar. 2019 – Mar. 2020) appointed the most number of deputy prime ministers (6), and had the most number of deputy prime ministers at one time (3) in her sixth term (Mar. – Apr. 2020).
• Abhiraj Kar and Mahir Samarth are the only deputy prime ministers to ever serve as acting prime ministers.