List of chief ministers of Punjab, India
| Chief Minister of Punjab | |
|---|---|
 Seal of Punjab | |
| Appointer | Governor of Punjab |
| Inaugural holder | Gopi Chand Bhargava |
| Formation | 15 August 1947 |
The Chief Minister of Punjab, a north Indian state, is the head of the Government of Punjab. As per the Constitution of India, the Governor of Punjab is the state's de jure head, but de facto executive authority rests with the chief minister. Following elections to the Punjab Legislative Assembly, the governor usually invites the party (or coalition) with a majority of seats to form the government. The governor appoints the chief minister, whose council of ministers are collectively responsible to the assembly. Given that he has the confidence of the assembly, the chief minister's term is for five years and is subject to no term limits.[1]
Since 1947, Punjab has had fifteen chief ministers. The first was Gopi Chand Bhargava of the Indian National Congress party, who was sworn-in on 15 August 1947, when India gained independence from the British. He was succeeded by fellow Congressman Bhim Sen Sachar, who was then subsequently replaced after 188 days by former Chief Minister Gopi Chand Bhargava. After a brief term, President Rajendra Prasad placed the Punjab Legislative Assembly under suspension for ninth months to help the state government gets its act together. In 1952, the first state elections took place for the Legislative Assembly. The results of the election saw the return of the Congress government with former Chief Minister Bhim Sen Sachar as its leader. After he resigned in 1956, Partap Singh Kairon became chief minister. Serving until 1964, Khairon remain's one of Punjab's longest-serving chief ministers. He was followed by the returning Chief Minister Gopi Chand Bhargava, who briefly held office as acting chief minister for only 15 days. In July 1964, Ram Kishan assumed the office and served for two years. His tenure was followed by the President's rule which lasted for 119 days. During this time, the state of Haryana was separated from Punjab.
The first chief minister of the newly re-configured state was Giani Gurmukh Singh Musafir who led a Congress government from the Vidhan Parishad, one of only two to have done so. In the 1967 elections, he was voted out of power in favour of the Akali Das Sant Fateh Singh Group whose leader Gurnam Singh became the first non-Congress chief minister. Gurnam Singh's government was succeeded by three short-lived Akali Dal governments—Lachhman Singh Gill's government for less than a year and for a little more than a year under the returning Gurnam Singh and Parkash Singh Badal. After 272 days under President's rule, the Congress party returned to power under future President Zail Singh. In 1977, Parkash Singh Badal became the chief minister for the second time. Darbara Singh became chief minister in 1980 and remained in office for three years before a long period under President's rule. A brief interlude under Surjit Singh Barnala followed, after which three Congress-led governments took office—led by Beant Singh from 1992 to 1995, Harcharan Singh Brar from 1995 to 1996 and Rajinder Kaur Bhattal from 1996 to 1997. Upon taking office, Rajinder Kaur Bhattal became the first female chief minister of Punjab and overall the 8th female chief minister in India.
Parkash Singh Badal assumed office for the third time in 1997 and became the first chief minister since Kairon's resignation in 1964 in to serve a full term. Badal was succeeded by Congressman Amarinder Singh, who also successfully served a full term. The incumbent Chief Minister of Punjab is Parkash Singh Badal who has headed an Akali Dal-BJP coalition government since 1 March 2007 and is the longest-serving chief minister with over 15 years in office.
Key
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Chief Ministers of Punjab
| № | Name (birth–death); constituency |
Portrait | Party[a] | Term of office | Elections (Vidhan Sabha) |
Appointed by(Governor) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| style="background:Template:Indian National Congress/meta/color;" | 1 | Gopi Chand Bhargava (1889–1966) MLA for Pundri |
Indian National Congress | 15 August 1947 |
13 April 1949[RES] |
1 year, 241 days | — | Chandulal Madhavlal Trivedi | |
| style="background:Template:Indian National Congress/meta/color;" | 2 | Bhim Sen Sachar (1894–1978) MLA for Ludhiana City South |
Indian National Congress | 13 April 1949 |
18 October 1949[RES] |
188 days | — | ||
| style="background:Template:Indian National Congress/meta/color;" | (1) | Gopi Chand Bhargava (1889–1966) MLA for Pundri |
Indian National Congress | 18 October 1949[§] |
20 June 1951 |
1 year, 245 days | — | ||
| - | Vacant[b] (President's rule) |
None | 20 June 1951 |
17 April 1952 |
302 days | — | Rajendra Prasad | |
| style="background:Template:Indian National Congress/meta/color;" | (2) | Bhim Sen Sachar (1894–1978) MLA for Ludhiana City South |
Indian National Congress | 17 April 1952[§] |
23 January 1956[RES] |
3 years, 281 days | 1952 (1st) | Chandulal Madhavlal Trivedi | |
| style="background:Template:Indian National Congress/meta/color;" rowspan=3| 3 | Partap Singh Kairon (1901–1965) MLA for Sujanpur |
Indian National Congress | 23 January 1956 |
21 June 1964[RES] |
8 years, 150 days | — (1st) | Chandeshwar Prasad Narayan Singh | |
| 1957 (2nd) | ||||||||
| 1962 (3rd) | Narhar Vishnu Gadgil | |||||||
| style="background:Template:Indian National Congress/meta/color;" | (1) | Gopi Chand Bhargava (1889–1966) MLC in Vidhan Parishad |
Indian National Congress | 21 June 1964[§] |
6 July 1964[RES] |
15 days | — (3rd) | Hafiz Mohamad Ibrahim | |
| style="background:Template:Indian National Congress/meta/color;" | 4 | Ram Kishan MLA for Jullundur City North East |
Indian National Congress | 7 July 1964 |
5 July 1966 |
1 year, 363 days | — (3rd) | ||
| - | Vacant[b] (President's rule) |
None | 5 July 1966 |
1 November 1966 |
119 days | — | Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan | |
| Chief Minister of Punjab (After separation of Haryana) | ||||||||
| style="background:Template:Indian National Congress/meta/color;" | 5 | Giani Gurmukh Singh Musafir (1899–1976) MLC in Vidhan Parishad |
Indian National Congress | 1 November 1966 |
8 March 1967 |
127 days | — (3rd) | Dharma Vira | |
| style="background:Template:Shiromani Akali Dal/meta/color;" | 6 | Gurnam Singh (1899–1973) MLA for Qila Raipur |
Akali Das Sant Fateh Singh Group | 8 March 1967 |
25 November 1967[RES] |
262 days | 1967 (4th) | ||
| style="background:Template:Shiromani Akali Dal/meta/color;" | 7 | Lachhman Singh Gill (1917–1969) MLA for Dharamkot |
Shiromani Akali Dal | 25 November 1967 |
23 August 1968 |
272 days | — (4th) | D. C. Pavate | |
| - | Vacant[b] (President's rule) |
None | 23 August 1968 |
17 February 1969 |
178 days | — | Zakir Hussain | |
| style="background:Template:Shiromani Akali Dal/meta/color;" | (6) | Gurnam Singh (1899–1973) MLA for Qila Raipur |
Shiromani Akali Dal | 17 February 1969[§] |
27 March 1970[RES] |
1 year, 38 days | 1969 (5th) | D. C. Pavate | |
| style="background:Template:Shiromani Akali Dal/meta/color;" | 8 | Parkash Singh Badal (born 1927) MLA for Giddarbaha |
|
Shiromani Akali Dal | 27 March 1970 |
14 June 1971 |
1 year, 79 days | — (5th) | |
| - | Vacant[b] (President's rule) |
None | 14 June 1971 |
17 March 1972 |
277 days | — | ' | |
| style="background:Template:Indian National Congress/meta/color;" | 9 | Zail Singh (1916–1994) MLA for Anandpur Sahib |
File:Giani Zail Singh (cropped).jpg | Indian National Congress | 17 March 1972 |
30 April 1977 |
5 years, 44 days | 1972 (6th) | D. C. Pavate |
| - | Vacant[b] (President's rule) |
None | 30 April 1977 |
20 June 1977 |
51 days | — | B. D. Jatti | |
| style="background:Template:Shiromani Akali Dal/meta/color;" | (8) | Parkash Singh Badal (born 1927) MLA for Giddarbaha |
|
Shiromani Akali Dal | 20 June 1977[§] |
17 February 1980 |
2 years, 242 days | 1977 (7th) | Mahendra Mohan Choudhry |
| - | Vacant[b] (President's rule) |
None | 17 February 1980 |
6 June 1980 |
110 days | — | Neelam Sanjiva Reddy | |
| style="background:Template:Indian National Congress/meta/color;" | 10 | Darbara Singh (1916–1990) MLA for Nakodar |
Indian National Congress (I) | 6 June 1980 |
10 October 1983 |
3 years, 126 days | 1980 (8th) | Jaisukh lal Hathi | |
| - | Vacant[b] (President's rule) |
None | 10 October 1983 |
29 September 1985 |
1 year, 354 days | — | Zail Singh | |
| style="background:Template:Shiromani Akali Dal/meta/color;" | 11 | Surjit Singh Barnala (born 1925) MLA for Barnala |
|
Shiromani Akali Dal | 29 September 1985 |
11 June 1987 |
1 year, 255 days | 1985 (9th) | Arjun Singh |
| - | Vacant[b] (President's rule) |
None | 11 June 1987 |
25 February 1992 |
4 years, 259 days | — | Zail Singh | |
| style="background:Template:Indian National Congress/meta/color;" | 12 | Beant Singh (1922–1995) MLA for Jullundur Cantonment |
Indian National Congress (I) | 25 February 1992 |
31 August 1995[†] |
3 years, 187 days | 1992 (10th) | Surendra Nath | |
| style="background:Template:Indian National Congress/meta/color;" | 13 | Harcharan Singh Brar (1922–2009) MLA for Muktsar |
Indian National Congress (I) | 31 August 1995 |
21 January 1996[RES] |
143 days | — (10th) | B.K.N. Chhibber | |
| style="background:Template:Indian National Congress/meta/color;" | 14 | Rajinder Kaur Bhattal (born 1945) MLA for Lehra |
Indian National Congress (I) | 21 January 1996 |
11 February 1997 |
1 year, 21 days | — (10th) | ||
| style="background:Template:Shiromani Akali Dal/meta/color;" | (8) | Parkash Singh Badal (born 1927) MLA for Lambi |
|
Shiromani Akali Dal | 12 February 1997[§] |
26 February 2002 |
5 years, 14 days | 1997 (11th) | |
| style="background:Template:Indian National Congress/meta/color;" | 15 | Amarinder Singh (born 1942) MLA for Patiala Town |
|
Indian National Congress | 26 February 2002 |
1 March 2007 |
5 years, 3 days | 2002 (12th) | J. F. R. Jacob |
| style="background:Template:Shiromani Akali Dal/meta/color;" rowspan=2| (8) | Parkash Singh Badal (born 1927) MLA for Lambi |
|
Shiromani Akali Dal | 1 March 2007[§] |
Incumbent | 17 years, 64 days | 2007 (13th) | Sunith Francis Rodrigues |
| 2012 (14th) | Shivraj Patil | |||||||
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Living former chief ministers
As of May 2015, three former chief ministers were living, the oldest being Surjit Singh Barnala (1985–1987, born 1925). The most recent death of a former chief minister was that of Harcharan Singh Brar (1995–1996), on 6 September 2009.
| Chief Minister | Term | Date of birth |
|---|---|---|
| Surjit Singh Barnala | 1985–1987 | October 21, 1925 |
| Rajinder Kaur Bhattal | 1996–1997 | September 30, 1945 |
| Amarinder Singh | 2002–2007 | March 11, 1942 |
Notes & References
- Notes
- ^ This column only names the chief minister's party. The state government he heads may be a complex coalition of several parties and independents; these are not listed here.
- ^ a b c d e f g h President's rule may be imposed when the "government in a state is not able to function as per the Constitution", which often happens because no party or coalition has a majority in the assembly. When President's rule is in force in a state, its council of ministers stands dissolved. The office of chief minister thus lies vacant, and the administration is taken over by the governor, who functions on behalf of the central government. At times, the legislative assembly also stands dissolved.[4]
- References
- ^ 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. Note: although the text talks about Indian state governments in general, it applies for the specific case of Punjab as well.
- ^ "Indian National Congress". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
- ^ "Shiromani Akali Dal". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
- ^ Amberish K. Diwanji. "A dummy's guide to President's rule". Rediff.com. 15 March 2005.