Vice-Presidents of India (1952–2025): Terms, Successions and the Acting-President Trap
The office of Vice-President is one of the most date-and-name-heavy corners of Indian Polity – fifteen individuals since 1952, several of whom quietly became President afterward, one who died in office, one who resigned to win a bigger race, and one who resigned and simply left. This note untangles who became what, who left early and why, and the specific constitutional articles (63–70) that aspirants mix up with the President's parallel provisions (Articles 54, 60, 61).
📌 Revision Pointers
15 Vice-Presidents of India since 1952; the current (15th) is C. P. Radhakrishnan, in office since 9 September 2025.
Six VPs later became President: Radhakrishnan, Zakir Hussain, Giri, Venkataraman, Sharma and Narayanan.
Only Giri (1969) and Dhankhar (2025) left office before completing a full term – for opposite reasons.
Only Krishan Kant died while serving as VP (2002); Zakir Hussain and Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed died as President, not VP.
The VP is elected by Parliament alone (Article 66); the President's electoral college also includes state MLAs (Article 54).
The President administers the oath to the VP (Article 69); the CJI administers the oath to the President (Article 60).
1. The Six Vice-Presidents Who Went On to Become President
Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1st VP, 1952–62) - Became the 2nd President of India (1962–67), elected in his own right after completing his VP term.
Mnemonic Hook: "Radhakrishnan: VP No. 1 becomes President No. 2 – the only one-to-one match in the whole list."
Link: His birthday, 5 September, is celebrated as Teachers' Day.
Dr. Zakir Hussain (2nd VP, 1962–67) - Became the 3rd President (1967–69), India's first Muslim President; died in office in May 1969.
Mnemonic Hook: "Zakir Hussain: VP 2 to President 3 – then the only President on this list to die in office."
Link: His death triggered the famous "two Acting Presidents in one gap" episode (see Section 2).
V. V. Giri (3rd VP, 1967–69) - Resigned as VP in July 1969 to contest the presidential election, and won it, becoming the 4th President (1969–74).
Mnemonic Hook: "Giri: the only one who quit the Vice-Presidency to go and win the Presidency."
Link: Before that, he had already been Acting President (a VP's constitutional duty) for over two months after Zakir Hussain's death.
R. Venkataraman (7th VP, 1984–87) - Became the 8th President (1987–92).
Mnemonic Hook: "Venkataraman: 7 to 8 – the first of three straight VP-to-President promotions."
Link: A freedom fighter and lawyer before entering politics.
Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma (8th VP, 1987–92) - Became the 9th President (1992–97).
Mnemonic Hook: "Sharma: 8 to 9 – the second of three straight VP-to-President promotions."
Link: Also a former Governor of Punjab and Andhra Pradesh before the Vice-Presidency.
K. R. Narayanan (9th VP, 1992–97) - Became the 10th President (1997–2002), India's first Dalit President.
Mnemonic Hook: "Narayanan: 9 to 10 – the third of three straight VP-to-President promotions (Venkataraman → Sharma → Narayanan, 1987–2002)."
Link: Also served as India's Ambassador to the USA before entering the Vice-Presidency.
2. The Acting-President Trap: 1969's Two Acting Presidents
V. V. Giri as Acting President - After President Zakir Hussain's death (3 May 1969), VP Giri took over as Acting President under Article 65 – but resigned this role AND the Vice-Presidency itself on 20 July 1969 to stand in the presidential election.
Mnemonic Hook: "Giri Acts, then Giri Quits, then Giri Wins."
Link: No Vice-President existed in India between 20 July 1969 and the next VP's swearing-in.
Justice M. Hidayatullah as Acting President - With the VP's post vacant after Giri's resignation, the sitting Chief Justice of India stepped in as Acting President (20 July–24 August 1969) until Giri was formally elected and sworn in.
Mnemonic Hook: "Hidayatullah: CJI first, Acting President second, elected Vice-President third (1979) – the only person to hold all three offices."
Link: This remains the only instance in Indian history where a sitting CJI has acted as President.
3. The Two Who Left Before Their Term Ended
V. V. Giri (1967–69) - Resigned to successfully contest the presidential election (see Sections 1 and 2).
Mnemonic Hook: "Giri left to win."
Link: The first Vice-President of India ever to resign.
Jagdeep Dhankhar (14th VP, 2022–2025) - Resigned on 21 July 2025 citing health reasons, roughly three years into his five-year term.
Mnemonic Hook: "Dhankhar left – no election to win, just health cited."
Link: His exit triggered a fresh vice-presidential election; C. P. Radhakrishnan was elected the 15th VP on 9 September 2025.
4. Firsts, Lasts and Record-Holders
Krishan Kant (10th VP, 1997–2002) - The only Vice-President of India to die in office (27 July 2002).
Mnemonic Hook: "Krishan Kant could not complete – Kant finish the term."
Link: Not to be confused with Presidents who died in office – Zakir Hussain (1969) and Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (1977).
Bhairon Singh Shekhawat (11th VP, 2002–07) - The only sitting Vice-President to contest a presidential election and lose – defeated by Pratibha Patil in July 2007.
Mnemonic Hook: "Shekhawat tried, Shekhawat lost – the mirror opposite of Giri."
Link: Also a long-serving former Chief Minister of Rajasthan.
Mohammad Hamid Ansari (12th VP, 2007–17) - The only Vice-President to complete two consecutive full five-year terms.
Mnemonic Hook: "Ansari: two terms, one VP, zero repeats anywhere else on this list."
Link: A career diplomat before entering the Vice-Presidency.
M. Venkaiah Naidu (13th VP, 2017–22) - Completed one full term; no early exit, no extension.
Mnemonic Hook: "Naidu: the 'nothing unusual happened' entry – the control case to test every other fact against."
Link: Previously a Union minister for Urban Development and for Information & Broadcasting.
C. P. Radhakrishnan (15th VP, since 9 September 2025) - The current Vice-President; elected after Dhankhar's resignation; was Governor of Maharashtra immediately before this role.
Mnemonic Hook: "Radhakrishnan (C.P.), 2025, is not Radhakrishnan (S.), 1952 – the first VP and the current VP share only a surname."
Link: Earlier in his gubernatorial career he also held additional charge as Governor of Jharkhand and Telangana.
5. Articles Aspirants Mix Up: Vice-President vs President
Election method - The Vice-President is elected only by members of both Houses of Parliament (Article 66); the President is elected by an Electoral College of MPs plus MLAs of states and UTs with legislatures (Article 54).
Mnemonic Hook: "VP = Parliament only; President = Parliament + State Assemblies."
Link: This is why a VP election has far fewer electors and a simpler vote count than a presidential one.
Removal process - A VP can be removed by a Rajya Sabha resolution (passed by a majority of all then-members) agreed to by the Lok Sabha, with 14 days' notice (Article 67); a President can only be removed by impeachment for "violation of the Constitution" under Article 61, needing a two-thirds special majority in both Houses.
Mnemonic Hook: "VP's removal motion starts only in the Rajya Sabha; President's impeachment can start in either House."
Link: Neither process has ever actually been used against an Indian VP or President.
Oath of office - The President administers the oath to the Vice-President (Article 69); the Chief Justice of India (or the senior-most available judge) administers the oath to the President (Article 60).
Mnemonic Hook: "President swears in the VP; CJI swears in the President – the two roles do not mirror each other."
Link: Aspirants often guess this is reversed; it is not.
Ex-officio role - The VP is the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha (Article 64), drawing no separate salary for that role beyond the VP's own; the President has no equivalent ex-officio legislative chair role.
Mnemonic Hook: "VP wears two hats – VP plus RS Chairman – for one salary."
Link: The Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha, elected from among its own members, presides whenever the VP is unavailable.
Quick Timeline/Flowchart
1952: Dr. S. Radhakrishnan – 1st VP
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1962: Dr. Zakir Hussain – 2nd VP
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1967: V. V. Giri – 3rd VP
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1969: Zakir Hussain dies as President → Giri (VP) acts as President → Giri resigns (VP + Acting President) to contest polls → CJI Hidayatullah acts as President → Giri elected 4th President
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1969–74: Gopal Swarup Pathak – 4th VP
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1974–79: B. D. Jatti – 5th VP
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1979–84: M. Hidayatullah – 6th VP (the same man who had acted as President in 1969)
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1984–87: R. Venkataraman – 7th VP → 8th President
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1987–92: Shankar Dayal Sharma – 8th VP → 9th President
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1992–97: K. R. Narayanan – 9th VP → 10th President
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1997–2002: Krishan Kant – 10th VP (dies in office, 2002)
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2002–07: Bhairon Singh Shekhawat – 11th VP (loses the 2007 presidential poll)
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2007–17: Mohammad Hamid Ansari – 12th VP (two full consecutive terms)
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2017–22: M. Venkaiah Naidu – 13th VP
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2022–25: Jagdeep Dhankhar – 14th VP (resigns, July 2025)
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2025–present: C. P. Radhakrishnan – 15th VP
Quick Revision List
15 individuals have held the office of Vice-President of India since 1952; the incumbent (15th) is C. P. Radhakrishnan, in office since 9 September 2025.
Six VPs went on to become President: Radhakrishnan, Zakir Hussain, Giri, Venkataraman, Sharma and Narayanan – the last three (Venkataraman, Sharma, Narayanan) did so in an unbroken consecutive run from 1987 to 2002.
Only V. V. Giri and Jagdeep Dhankhar left office before their five-year term was due to end – for opposite reasons.
Only Krishan Kant died while serving as Vice-President; Zakir Hussain and Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed died while serving as President – two separate lists, never merge them.
Only Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, as a sitting VP, contested and lost a presidential election.
Only Mohammad Hamid Ansari completed two full consecutive terms as Vice-President.
Common Confusion Traps
Trap 1 – Acting President vs Elected President: V. V. Giri was Acting President (by virtue of being VP) for about two and a half months in mid-1969, then later separately elected President in his own right in August 1969. Aspirants collapse these into a single fact.
Trap 2 – Two Acting Presidents, one vacancy: Between Zakir Hussain's death and Giri's election (May–August 1969), India had two different Acting Presidents in succession – first Giri, then CJI Hidayatullah – a sequence often misremembered as a single person.
Trap 3 – Resignation vs non-completion: Giri and Dhankhar are the only two VPs who did not complete a full term, but for opposite reasons – one left to win a higher office, the other left citing health.
Trap 4 – Who died in which office: Krishan Kant died as Vice-President; Zakir Hussain and Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed died as President. All three get jumbled into one undifferentiated "died in office" fact.
Trap 5 – Oath direction: The President swears in the Vice-President (Article 69) – not the Chief Justice, and not the other way round. Many aspirants assume the CJI administers both oaths.
Trap 6 – Electorate size: The VP's electoral college is Parliament only; adding state MLAs to the VP election (an error carried over from memorising the President's election under Article 54) is incorrect.
💭 Conclusion
Anchor the whole topic to one question: whenever a fact mixes up "died in office," "resigned," or "became President," ask which specific office – Vice-President or President – the person held at that exact moment. Keep the VP list and the President list mentally separate, and the rest of the confusion collapses on its own.