As per the Indian Constitution there are two executive authorities in any state. One is the Nominal Executive Authority borne by the Governor of the state and second one is Real Executive Authority which is borne by the Chief Minister of State. While the Governor is the Head of State, the Chief Minister is the Head of the Government.
Today we are going to learn about the head of the State Government i.e. Chief Minister. You will find relevant questions from the topic of Chief Ministers and their powers in various competitive exams like SSC, Bank, Railways, UPSC etc. So let's know about the constitutional provisions, powers and names of Chief Ministers state-wise.

The Republic of India is a union of 28 states and 8 Union Territories. According to the new Gazette of India 2019, India would have 30 Chief Ministers, 28 from States and 3 from Union Territories namely; Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi and Pondicherry. Currently Jammu and Kashmir has no Chief Minister. The whole sole Administrative execution is under the lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha there.
Article 163 of Indian Constitution provides for the formation of a council of ministers with the Chief Minister as its head and Article 164 briefs us about the appointment of Chief Minister.
So the Chief Minister is usually the leader of the party in majority in the state Legislative assembly. He is appointed by the Governor of State for a period of 5 years. The term of office for Chief Ministers of India is for a maximum of five years but it is not limited to the number of terms to serve as CM. Also there is no fixed term of Chief Minister, as he holds the office during the pleasure of the Governor.
In case of sudden demise of the Chief Minister, the Governor may exercise his individual judgment to select and appoint a person as the head of the council of ministers. But if the ruling party elects a new leader, the Governor has to respect the majority he has to appoint that person as the Chief Minister.
A Chief Minister is the elected head of the council of ministers in a state who rules and regulates the functions of a particular state. Here we are listing the powers and functions of Chief Ministers as follows.
Under Article 163, 164 and 167; the appointment, duties and functions of Chief Minister are defined. Let's have a look at these articles.
ARTICLE 163: It states that there shall be a council of ministers with the chief minister as its head to aid and advise the Governor on the exercise of his functions.
ARTICLE 164: The article mentions three points:
ARTICLE 167: It briefs about the duties of the Chief Minister.
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Chief Minister | State | Joining Date | Party | |
1 | Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy | Andhra Pradesh | 30 May 2019 (3 years, 29 days) | Yuvajana Shramika Rythu Congress Party |
2 | Pema Khandu | Arunachal Pradesh | 17 July 2016 (5 years, 346 days) | Bharatiya Janata Party |
3 | Himanta Biswa Sarma | Assam | 10 May 2021 (1 year, 49 days) | |
4 | Nitish Kumar | Bihar | 22 February 2015 (7 years, 126 days) | Janata Dal (United) |
5 | Bhupesh Baghel | Chhattisgarh | 17 December 2018 (3 years, 193 days) | Indian National Congress |
6 | Arvind Kejriwal | Delhi | 14 February 2015 (7 years, 134 days) | Aam Aadmi Party |
7 | Pramod Sawant | Goa | 19 March 2019 (3 years, 101 days) | Bharatiya Janata Party |
8 | Bhupendrabhai Patel | Gujarat | 13 September 2021 (288 days) | |
9 | Manohar Lal Khattar | Haryana | 26 October 2014 (7 years, 245 days) | |
10 | Jai Ram Thakur | Himachal Pradesh | 27 December 2017 (4 years, 183 days) | |
11 | Vacant | Jammu and Kashmir | 20 December 2018 | - |
12 | Hemant Soren | Jharkhand | 29 December 2019 (2 years, 181 days) | Jharkhand Mukti Morcha |
13 | Basavaraj Bommai | Karnataka | 28 July 2021 (335 days) | Bharatiya Janata Party |
14 | Pinarayi Vijayan | Kerala | 25 May 2016 (6 years, 34 days) | Communist Party of India (Marxist) |
15 | Shivraj Singh Chouhan | Madhya Pradesh | 23 March 2020 (2 years, 97 days) | Bharatiya Janata Party |
16 | Uddhav Thackeray | Maharashtra | 28 November 2019 (2 years, 212 days) | Shiv Sena |
17 | Nongthombam Biren Singh | Manipur | 15 March 2017 (5 years, 105 days) | Bharatiya Janata Party |
18 | Conrad Sangma | Meghalaya | 6 March 2018 (4 years, 114 days) | National People's Party |
19 | Zoramthanga | Mizoram | 15 December 2018 (3 years, 195 days) | Mizo National Front |
20 | Neiphiu Rio | Nagaland | 8 March 2018 (4 years, 112 days) | Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party |
21 | Naveen Patnaik | Odisha | 5 March 2000 (22 years, 115 days) | Biju Janata Dal |
22 | Nadesan Rangaswamy | Puducherry | 7 May 2021 (1 year, 52 days) | All India N.R. Congress |
23 | Bhagwant Mann | Punjab | 16 March 2022 (104 days) | Aam Aadmi Party |
24 | Ashok Gehlot | Rajasthan | 17 December 2018 (3 years, 193 days) | Indian National Congress |
25 | Prem Singh Tamang | Sikkim | 27 May 2019 (3 years, 32 days) | Sikkim Krantikari Morcha |
26 | M. K. Stalin | Tamil Nadu | 7 May 2021 (1 year, 52 days) | Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam |
27 | Kalvakuntla Chandrasekhar Rao | Telangana | 2 June 2014 (8 years, 26 days) | Telangana Rashtra Samithi |
28 | Manik Saha | Tripura | 15 May 2022 (44 days) | Bharatiya Janata Party |
29 | Yogi Adityanath | Uttar Pradesh | 19 March 2017 (5 years, 101 days) | |
30 | Pushkar Singh Dhami | Uttarakhand (list) | 4 July 2021 (359 days) | |
31 | Mamata Banerjee | West Bengal (list) | 20 May 2011 (11 years, 39 days) | All India Trinamool Congress |