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.[1] A deputy chief minister usually also holds a cabinet portfolio such as home minister or finance minister. 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.
Currently, only 14 states (out of 28 states and 8 union territories) have deputy chief ministers. Out of these, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, 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 National People's Party have two incumbents, the Jana Sena Party, the Nationalist Congress Party and the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party has one incumbent each. Of the 23 incumbents, two are woman — 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 7 years, 348 days). As of 29 June 2024, one state (Uttarakhand) and one union territory (Puducherry) have never had a deputy chief minister.
Current Indian deputy chief ministers
| Colour key for parties | |
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See also
- List of current Indian chief ministers
- List of longest-serving Indian chief ministers
- List of female deputy chief ministers in India
- List of chief ministers from the Bharatiya Janata Party
- List of chief ministers from the Communist Party of India (Marxist)
- List of chief ministers from the Indian National Congress
- List of deputy prime ministers of India
References
- ^ Rajendran, S. (13 July 2012). "Of Deputy Chief Ministers and the Constitution". The Hindu. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
- ^ Arunachal Pradesh Cabinet Ministers
- ^ Arunachal Pradesh Cabinet Ministers
- ^ "Chhattisgarh likely to have two Deputy CMS, Raman Singh as Speaker: Report". 10 December 2023.
- ^ "Congress turns the page in Himachal: Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu is CM". 10 December 2022.
- ^ Maharashtra Cabinet Expansion
- ^ "Prestone Tysong".
- ^ "BJP to get deputy cm in Nagaland". The Times of India. 6 March 2018.
- ^ "Sindhi Punjabi society congratulates Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak".
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