Chief Minister
The chief minister is the real executive of this state. The governor being the head of the state, the chief minister is the head of the government. The position of the chief minister in the state level is similar to the position of Prime Minister at the centre.
The appointment of chief minister is given in article 164, according to which the chief minister shall be appointed by the governor and the other ministers shall be appointed by the governor on the advice of the chief minister, And the ministers shall hold office during the pleasure of the governor.
The person who commands the majority support in the state legislative assembly is appointed as the chief minister by the governor. The other ministers add appointed by the governor on the advice of chief minister and the ministers included in the Council of Ministers must belong to either House of the state legislature (in case of bicameral legislature) or legislative assembly (in case of unicameral legislature). The portfolios to the members of the Council of Ministers are allocated by the governor on the advice of the chief minister.
Articles related to Chief Minister:
Appointment of Chief Minister
According to Article 164 in the Indian Constitution, the Chief Minister is appointed by the Governor. However, the Governor cannot appoint any random person as the Chief Minister. In accordance with the conventions of the parliamentary system of government, the governor has to appoint the leader of majority party in the state legislative assembly as the Chief Minister.
Hence, the leader of the party that has got the majority share of votes in the assembly elections, is appointed as the Chief Minister of the state.
- When no party gets a majority in the elections, governor exercises his own discretion and appoint a Chief Minister accordingly.
- In a case where no party has won the majority votes, Governor appoints the member of the largest party or coalition in the assembly as the Chief Minister and then he is asked to seek a vote of confidence in the house within a period of one month.
- On death of the Chief Minister, the Governor acts at his own discretion and may have to exercise his individual judgement in the selection and appointment of the Chief Minister. however, the ruling party nominates a member and Governor usually has no choice but to appoint that person as the Chief Minister. This person then has to prove confidence within a specified time.
- A person not belonging to either house (Legislative Assembly & Council) can also be appointed as the Chief Minister, however, within six months of his tenure as a Chief Minister, he should be elected to either house without which he ceases to be a Chief Minister.
- Chief Minister can belong to any house in the State Legislature.
Oath of Chief Minister
Before entering the office, the oaths of office and secrecy of the Chief Minister is administered by the Governor. In his oath of office, he swears to:
- bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India
- uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India,
- faithfully and conscientiously discharge the duties of his office, and
- Do right to all kinds of people in accordance with the Constitution and the law, without fear or favour, affection or ill-will.
In his oath of secrecy, he swears that he will not directly or indirectly communicate or reveal to any person(s) any matter that is brought under his consideration or becomes known to him as a state minister except as may be required for the due discharge of his duties as such minister.
Term of Office of the Chief Minister
The term of office of Chief Minister is not fixed as he holds office during the pleasure of the Governor. Governor cannot remove him any time. The Chief Minister cannot be removed by the Governor until he enjoys majority support in the legislative assembly. But, once he loses the confidence and support of majority in the legislative assembly, he must resign, or the governor dismisses him.
Powers and Functions of the Chief Minister
The powers and functions of the Chief Minister are divided into three categories:
In Relation to the Council of Ministers
The Chief Minister is the head of state council of ministers. He performs the following functions:
- Only those persons, who are recommended by the Chief Minister are appointed as ministers by the Governor.
- He designates or reshuffles the portfolios of the ministers
- He can ask a minister to resign or advice the governor to dismiss him in case of difference of opinion.
- Meeting of the council of ministers is presided by him and the decisions of the meeting are also influenced by him.
- All activities of the ministers are guided, controlled, directed and coordinated by the Chief Minister
- If he resigns, the entire council of ministers collapses. hence, he can bring about the collapse of the Council of Ministers.
Note: If the CM dies or resigns, the Council of Ministers automatically dissolves.
In Relation to the Governor
In relation to the governor, the Chief Minister performs the following functions:
- Being the principle channel of communication between the Governor and Council of Ministers, it is the duty of the Chief Minister to:
- to communicate all the activities, decisions that are taken up by the council of ministers to the governor
- To report to the governor, information about the administrative affairs if and when asked by the governor
- if the Governor so requires, to submit for the consideration of the council of ministers any matter on which a decision has been taken by a minister but which has not been considered by the council.
- He gives his advice to the governor for the appointment of the following persons:
- Advocate General
- Chairman ofState Public Services Commission
- The state election commission, etc.
In Relation to the State Legislature
Being the leader of the house, he has the following powers:
- Before a governor prorogues and summons the sessions of the state legislature, the Chief Minister’s advice is a must
- Legislative Assembly can be dissolved at any time if the Chief Minister recommends the governor to do so.
- All government policies are announced by him on the floor of the house.
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- He chairs the State Planning Board
- He is a vice-chairperson of the concerned zonal council by rotation, holding that office for a period of one year at a time
- He is a member of Inter-State Council and National Development Council which are headed by the Prime Minister.
- He is the chief spokesman of the state government.
- He is the crisis manager-in-chief at the political level during emergencies.
- As a leader of the state, he meets various sections of the people and receives memorands from them regarding their problems, and so on.
- He is the political head of the services.
All the above functions show that the real authority is veated with the Council of Ministers headed by the Chief Minister. The Council of Ministers is the real executive in the state. the position of the State Council of ministers largely depends upon the strength of the ruling party in the state assembly and the personality of the chief minister. the position of the chief minister is more powerful when his party is in power in the centre as well. as long as the chief minister and his Council of Ministers enjoy the confidence of a majority in the legislative assembly, he exercises the real executive power in the state.
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