Chief Minister

Indian Polity

Chapter 21: State – Chief Minister

Chief Minister:

The Governor is the dejure (nominal) head.
The Chief Minister is the defacto (real) head.
The Governor is the head of the state.
The Chief Minister is the head of the Government.

Appointment:

The Chief Minister is appointed by the Governor.
Other Ministers are also appointed by the Governor only on the advice of the Chief Minister.

Article 164:

The Chief Minister shall be appointed by the Governor and other ministers shall be appointed by the Governor on the advice of the Chief Minister.
The Ministers shall hold the office during the pleasure of the Governor.
The Council of Ministers shall be collectively responsible to the state legislative assembly.
To uphold the democratic principles the Governor appoints the leader of the majority party in the state legislative assembly as the Chief Minister.
In case no party has the majority then the Governor uses the discretionary powers.
The general principle is that the Governor invites the coalition group to form the government.
In coalition government there are minimum 2 parties in the government.
If there is no possibility of the formation of the government by group of parties then the Governor invites the single largest party to form the government.
Single largest party is a party is different from the majority party. A majority party gets the clear cut majority in the house. Single largest party is that party that won highest number of seats in the house but did not get the majority.
The total number of seats in Delhi assembly is 70 hence a majority party should get minimum 36 seats. But in the 2013 elections no party secured the majority.
BJP won 31 seats hence it is the single largest party in the Delhi Assembly. AAP (Aam Aadmi Party) which secured to win 28 seats formed the minority government with the outside support of Congress which won 8 seats.
If the single largest party refuses to form the government then he invites the second largest party to form the government.
If no party comes forward to form the government then the Governor recommends for the proclamation of the President’s Rule.
A person who is not a member of the state legislature can be appointed as the Chief Minister. He should become a member of either of the houses of the state legislature within six months, failing which he ceases to be the Chief Minister.
The Chief Minister may be the member of any of the two houses of a state legislature.

Oath Of Office:

The oath of office to the Chief Minister is administered by the Governor. Term:
The Chief Minister holds the office during the pleasure of the Governor. Resignation:
The Chief Minister submits the resignation to the Governor. Removal:
The Chief Minister is removed by the Governor.
The Chief Minister cannot be removed as long as he enjoys the majority of the House.
This was ruled by the Supreme Court in 1994 in S R Bommai V. Union of India case.
If the Chief Minister loses the majority of the assembly, he must resign otherwise the Governor can remove the Chief Minister.

Salary:

The salary and other allowances of the Chief Minister are determined by the state legislature.

Functions:

The CM is the defacto head. Hence every important decision is taken only after his bconsent.
The CM is the head of the Council of Ministers.
The CM presides over the meeting of the Council of Ministers.
The CM advises the Governor to appoint other Ministers.
The CM decides the allocation of the portfolios among various the ministers.
Portfolio means Ministry. One minister can hold more than one portfolio.
The CM reshuffles the portfolios.
The CM advices the minister to resign.
The CM advices Governor to accept resignation letter of a minister.
The CM advices the Governor to dismiss a minister in case he does not tender resignation letter even after advice by the Chief Minister.
The Chief Minister is the channel of communication between the Governor and the council of ministers.
Article 167: It shall be the duty of the Chief Minister to communicate to the Governor of the state all decisions of the council of ministers relating to the administration of the affairs of the state and proposals for legislation.
To furnish such information to the Governor relating to the administration of affairs of the state and proposals for legislation as the governor may call for and 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.
The Advocate General is appointed by the Governor on the advice of the CM.
The SPSC (State Public Service commission) Chairman and members are appointed by the Governor on the advice of the CM.
The CM advices the Governor to summon and prorogue the state legislature.
The CM advises the Governor to dissolve the state legislative assembly.
The CM is the ex-officio chairman of the State Planning Board.
The CM is the Vice Chairman of the Zonal council by rotation.
Zonal Councils discussed in detail separately.
The Union Home Minister is the Chairman of all Zonal Councils.
The CM is a member of NDC (National Development Council).
The CM is a member of ISC (Inter State Council).
The CM is a member of NIC (National Integration Council).
After the general elections (Assembly) the leader of the majority party is appointed as the Chief Minister.
On the advice of the Chief Minister remaining ministers are appointed by the Governor.
The Governor appoints the Pro-tem speaker.
Generally the senior most member of the house is appointed as the pro-tem speaker.
On January 1, 2014 the senior BJP leader and MLA Jagdish Mukhi of Delhi has been appointed as the pro-tem speaker by the Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung.
But he refused to be the pro-tem speaker. Hence the senior congress MLA Mateen Ahmed has been appointed as the pro-tem speaker.
The Pro-tem speaker administers oath of office to the all newly elected members of the state legislative assembly.
The Chief Minister and other Ministers also take the oath as the members of the assembly.