List of deputy chief ministers of Karnataka

The deputy chief minister of Karnataka is a member of the Cabinet in the Government of Karnataka. Not technically a constitutional office, it seldom carries any specific powers. In the parliamentary system of government, According to the Constitution of India, the Governor is Karnataka's de jure head, but de facto executive authority rests with its Chief Minister; the position of deputy chief minister is used to bring political stability and strength within a coalition government or in times of hung assembly, when a proper chain of command is necessaryThe position of deputy chief minister is not explicitly defined or mentioned in the Constitution of India. However, the Supreme Court of India has stated that the appointment of deputy chief ministers is not unconstitutional. The court has clarified that a deputy chief minister, for all practical purposes, remains a minister in the council of ministers headed by the chief minister and does not draw a higher salary or perks compared to other ministers.During the absence of the chief minister, the deputy-chief minister may chair cabinet meetings and lead the assembly majority. Various deputy chief ministers have also taken the oath of secrecy in line with the one that chief minister takes. This oath has also sparked controversies.

The first deputy chief minister of Karnataka was S. M. Krishna, in M. Veerappa Moily's cabinet in 1992. The office has since been only intermittently occupied. The current Chief MinisterSiddaramaiah is the longest serving deputy chief minister of Karnataka, who held the post on two occasions. Once during the chief minister-ship of J. H. Patel and another time when Dharam Singh was the chief minister. R. Ashoka and Eshwarappa were deputy chief minister of Karnataka, who took on the role when Jagadish Shettar was the chief minister. When H. D. Kumaraswamy formed a government in 2018, G. Parameshwara was sworn in as the deputy chief minister. After which when B.S. Yeddyurappa formed a government in 2019, three deputy chief ministers were sworn in, C. N. Ashwath Narayan, Govind Karjol and Laxman Savadi. For the first Karnataka witnessed three deputy chief ministers in office at the same time.

Many times there arose a proposal to make this post permanent, but nothing happened.

So far, Karnataka has witnessed 12 deputy chief ministers in nine terms; meanwhile, Siddaramaiah held the position twice.