Chief minister (India)
Head of government of a state or union territory in India
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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. 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.
The chief minister usually serves as the leader of the house in the respective legislative assembly.
Of the 31 incumbents, Seventeen incumbents belong to the Bharatiya Janata Party and four to the Indian National Congress, with no other party having more than one chief minister in office. Neiphiu Rio from Nagaland, has had the longest tenure (19 years, 223 days) as a chief minister. Pema Khandu of Arunachal Pradesh, serving since 16 July 2016 (for 10 years, 82 days), has the longest continuous incumbency. Mizoram's Lalduhoma (aged 77) is the oldest and Pema Khandu (aged 47), from Arunachal Pradesh is the youngest. Delhi's Rekha Gupta is the only incumbent female chief minister. As of 6 October 2026, 20 states and 2 union territories are run by the National Democratic Alliance, 6 states and 1 union territory by INDIA, 2 states have no alliance, and 5 union territories have no legislature.
Eligibility
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
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.
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Election
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. The chief minister holds office at the pleasure of the governor.
Oath
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, <Name of Minister> 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 <Name of the State> 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
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.
Remuneration
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. Until the legislature of the state decides salary, it shall be as specified in the second schedule. The salaries thus vary from state to state. As of 2026, the highest salary is drawn by chief ministers of Telangana, which is ₹410,000 (US$4,300) and lowest by the chief ministers of Tripura which is ₹105,500 (US$1,100) legally.
The net salary of the Chief Ministers varies from state to state. The following table shows the basic pay of CM of each state of India in decreasing order from top to bottom.
Current list
NDA: 22
INDIA: 6
None: 3
Legend
Indicates that the chief minister was by- elected to the constituency he represents
Deputy chief minister
The deputy chief minister is a member of the state government and usually the second highest ranking executive officer of their state's council of ministers. While not a constitutional office, it seldom carries any specific powers. In the parliamentary system of government, the chief minister is treated as the "first among equals" in the cabinet; the position of deputy chief minister is used to bring political stability and strength within a coalition government. The 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.
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.
Currently, only 17 states and 1 union territory (out of 28 states and 3 union territories) have deputy chief ministers. Out of these, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Odisha, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh have two deputy chief ministers each. No other state and union territory has more than one deputy chief minister in office.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has fifteen incumbents, the Indian National Congress has three, the Naga People's Front, Janata Dal (United) and the National People's Party have two incumbents, the Jana Sena Party, Nationalist Congress Party, Shiv Sena and the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference has one incumbent each. Of the 28 incumbents, four are woman — Sunetra Pawar in Maharashtra, Nemcha Kipgen in Manipur,Pravati Parida in Odisha & Diya Kumari in Rajasthan. The longest-serving incumbent deputy chief minister is Chowna Mein, who has served as the deputy chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh since 17 July 2016 (for 10 years, 81 days). As of 6 October 2026, one state (Uttarakhand) and one union territory (Puducherry) have never had a deputy chief minister.