Chief minister (India)
 | It has been suggested that List of current Indian chief ministers be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since April 2026. |
| Chief Minister of states/union territories | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Style |
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| Type | Head of the state government |
| Status | Leader of the executive |
| Member of | Member of legislature of respective states and union territories of India |
| Reports to |
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| Residence | Respective state capitals |
| Appointer | Governor by convention, based on appointee's ability to command confidence in the Legislative Assembly |
| Term length | Maxiumum of five years, given they have the confidence of the assembly No restriction on renewal |
| Constituting instrument | Article No. 163 and 164, Constitution of India |
| Deputy | Deputy chief minister |
| Salary | ₹405,000 (US$4,800) (incl. allowances) per month |
| Website | Chief Ministers of India |
|
|---|
 India portal |
In India, a chief minister is the elected head of government of each state out of the 28[1] states and sometimes a union territory (UT). Currently, only the UTs of Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Puducherry have serving chief ministers. According to the Constitution of India, the governor is a state's head, but de facto executive authority rests with the chief minister.
Following elections to the State legislative assembly or Vidhan Sabha in a state, the state's governor usually invites the party (or coalition) with a majority of seats to form the government. The governor appoints and swears in the chief minister, whose council of ministers are collectively responsible to the assembly. Based on the Westminster system, given that they retain the confidence of the assembly, the chief minister's term can last for the length of the assembly's life, a maximum of five years. There are no limits to the number of terms that the chief minister can serve.[2] A chief minister heads a state government's council of ministers and can be deputised in that role by a deputy chief minister. The chief minister generally selects the chief secretary and can also allot departments to the cabinet ministers of their state and ministers of state. They also direct the chief secretary to transfer, suspend, or promote officers of their state.
Eligibility
[edit]The Constitution of India sets the principle qualifications one must meet to be eligible to the office of chief minister. A chief minister must be:
- a citizen of India.
- should be a member of the state legislature
- of 25 years of age or more[3]
An individual who is not a member of the legislature can be considered the chief minister provided they get themselves elected to the State Legislature within six months from the date of their appointment. Failing which, they would cease to be the chief minister.
Election
[edit]The chief minister is elected through a majority in the state legislative assembly. This is procedurally established by the vote of confidence in the legislative assembly, as suggested by the governor of the state who is the appointing authority. They are elected for five years.[4] The chief minister holds office at the pleasure of the governor.
Oath
[edit]Since, according to the constitution, the chief minister is appointed by the governor, the swearing in ceremony is held before the governor of the state.
The oath of office
I, do swear in the name of God/solemnly affirm that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established, that I will uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India, that I will faithfully and conscientiously discharge my duties as a Minister for the State of and that I will do right to all manner of people in accordance with the Constitution and the law without fear or favour, affection or ill-will.
— Constitution of India, Schedule 3, Para 5
The oath of secrecy
I, <Name of Minister>, do swear in the name of God/solemnly affirm that I will not directly or indirectly communicate or reveal to any person or persons any matter which shall be brought under my consideration or shall become known to me as a Minister for the State of <Name of the State> except as may be required for the due discharge of my duties as such Minister.
— Constitution of India, Schedule 3, Para 6
Resignation
[edit]In the event of a chief minister's resignation, which conventionally occurs after a general election or during a phase of assembly majority transition, the outgoing chief minister holds the informal title of "caretaker" chief minister until the governor either appoints a new chief minister or dissolves the assembly. Since the post is not constitutionally defined, the caretaker chief minister enjoys all the powers of a regular chief minister, but cannot make any major policy decisions or cabinet changes during his or her short tenure as caretaker.[5]
Remuneration
[edit]By Article 164 of the constitution of India, remuneration of the chief minister as well as other ministers are to be decided by the respective state legislatures.[6] Until the legislature of the state decides salary, it shall be as specified in the second schedule. [7] The salaries thus vary from state to state. As of 2019, the highest salary is drawn by chief ministers of Telangana, which is ₹410,000 (US$4,800) and lowest by the chief ministers of Tripura which is ₹105,500 (US$1,200) legally.[8]
Deputy Chief Minister
[edit]Various states throughout the history have appointed deputy chief ministers. Despite being not mentioned in the constitution or law, the deputy-chief minister office is often used to pacify factions within the party or coalition. It is similar to the rarely used deputy-prime minister post in the central government of India. 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.[9][10]
Current list
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See also
[edit]- List of female Chief Ministers in India
- List of longest-ruling Indian chief ministers
- List of current Indian chief ministers
- List of current Indian deputy chief ministers
- Federalism in India
Notes
[edit]- ^ Only the chief minister's party is indicated. They may head a complex coalition of several parties and independents, which are not listed here.
- ^ a b c Although Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Puducherry each have an elected legislature and a council of ministers (headed by the chief minister), they are officially classified as union territories.
References
[edit]- ^ "States and Union Territories". knowindia.gov.in. Archived from the original on August 18, 2017.
- ^ Durga Das Basu. Introduction to the Constitution of India. 1960. 20th Edition, 2011 Reprint. pp. 241, 245. LexisNexis Butterworths Wadhwa Nagpur. ISBN 978-81-8038-559-9.
- ^ Constitution of India, Article 173
- ^ The Constitution of India article 164, clause 1
- ^ "Caretaker chief minister is just a placeholder, say experts". The Times of India. 12 February 2017.
- ^ The Constitution of India, article 164, clause 5
- ^ The Constitution of India, Article 164, Clause 5
- ^ Jain, CA Sindu (2017-05-21). "CM Salary India 2019 (Chief Minister Salary State Wise List)". FinApp. Retrieved 2019-03-11.
- ^ Dhananjay Mahapatra (27 December 2017). "Deputy CM: Not in Constitution, yet a post with a long history". Times of India. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
- ^ S. Rajendran (13 July 2012). "Of Deputy Chief Ministers and the Constitution". The Hindu. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
- ^ "Chief Ministers". Government of India. Archived from the original on 9 August 2019. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
- ^ "Chandrababu Naidu To Take Oath As Andhra Chief Minister On June 12, PM Modi To Attend". NDTV. 11 June 2024. Archived from the original on 11 June 2024. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
- ^ "Pema Khandu sworn in as Arunachal Pradesh CM". The Hindu. 29 May 2019. Archived from the original on 12 March 2024. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
- ^ "list of Minister took oath on 13th June 2024 with CM Pema Khandu". Indian express. 13 June 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
- ^ "Himanta Biswa Sarma Swearing-in: JP Nadda to Attend Oath-Taking Ceremony". News18. 10 May 2021. Archived from the original on 10 May 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
- ^ "Samrat Choudhary to be Bihar's first BJP Chief Minister as Nitish Kumar era ends". India Today. Retrieved 14 April 2026.
- ^ "Vishnu Deo Sai, his two deputies take oath in Chhattisgarh". The Hindu. 13 December 2023. Archived from the original on 12 March 2024. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
- ^ "BJP storming back to capital power as Delhi votes AAP out". India Today. 8 February 2025. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
- ^ Shetye, Murari (19 March 2019). "Goa speaker Pramod Sawant succeeds Parrikar as CM". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 19 March 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
- ^ "Bhupendra Patel to be sworn in as Gujarat Chief Minister on December 12". The Hindu. 10 December 2022. Archived from the original on 12 March 2024. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
- ^ "Nayab Saini sworn in as Haryana CM". The Hindu. 12 March 2024. Archived from the original on 12 March 2024. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
- ^ "Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu to be next Himachal CM, Mukesh Agnihotiri his deputy". India Today. 10 December 2022. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
- ^ "Omar Abdullah to become new Jammu and Kashmir CM". India.com. 8 October 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
- ^ "Hemant Soren swearing-in as Jharkhand CM: Which leaders are attending the ceremony?". The Times of India. 27 November 2024. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
- ^ "Siddaramaiah sworn in as Karnataka CM". The Hindu. 20 May 2023. Archived from the original on 12 March 2024. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
- ^ "Pinarayi Vijayan sworn in as Kerala Chief Minister for the second time". The Hindu. 20 May 2021. Archived from the original on 13 June 2024. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
- ^ "Mohan Yadav sworn in as Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh". The Hindu. 13 December 2023. Archived from the original on 12 March 2024. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
- ^ "Shinde new Maharashtra CM, Fadnavis deputy in last-minute twist in script". The Indian Express. 1 July 2022. Archived from the original on 22 November 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
- ^ "Yumnam Khemchand Singh Takes Oath As Manipur Chief Minister After President's Rule Ends". News18. 4 February 2026. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
- ^ "Conrad Sangma takes oath as Meghalaya CM for second term, Cabinet sworn in". The Hindu. 7 March 2023. Archived from the original on 15 March 2023. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
- ^ "Zoram People's Movement leader Lalduhoma sworn in as Mizoram CM". The Hindu. 8 December 2023. Archived from the original on 9 December 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
- ^ "Neiphiu Rio takes oath as Nagaland CM for fifth term". The Hindu. 7 March 2023. Archived from the original on 4 October 2023. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
- ^ "Mohan Majhi, Odisha new CM, is firebrand tribal leader who threw dal at Speaker podium". India Today. 11 June 2024. Archived from the original on 11 June 2024. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
- ^ "AAP's Bhagwant Mann sworn in as Punjab Chief Minister". The Hindu. 16 March 2022. Archived from the original on 9 August 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
- ^ Stalin, J Sam Daniel; Ghosh, Deepshikha (22 February 2021). "Congress loses power in Puducherry, V Narayanasamy resigns, blames BJP". NDTV. Archived from the original on 4 April 2021. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
- ^ "Who is Bajan Lal Sharma, Rajasthan's new CM". The Hindu. 17 December 2023. Archived from the original on 12 March 2024. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
- ^ "P.S. Tamang sworn in as Sikkim Chief Minister". The Hindu. 27 May 2019. Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
- ^ "MK Stalin sworn in as new Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu; here is the list of other top ministers". The Economic Times. 7 May 2021. Archived from the original on 22 November 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
- ^ "Revanth Reddy to be sworn in as Telangana chief minister tomorrow". NDTV. 7 December 2023. Archived from the original on 8 June 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
- ^ "Biplab Kumar Deb sworn in as Tripura CM". The Hindu. 18 December 2018. Archived from the original on 18 December 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
- ^ "Yogi Adityanath takes oath as Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister". The Hindu. 19 March 2017. Archived from the original on 13 June 2024. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
- ^ "Pushkar Singh Dhami takes oath as eleventh chief minister of Uttarakhand". The Hindustan Times. 4 July 2021. Archived from the original on 29 November 2022. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
- ^ "Mamata, 37 Ministers sworn in". The Hindu. 4 February 2014. Archived from the original on 12 March 2024. Retrieved 12 March 2024.