Tag: the state executive

Yashwantrao Chavan belonged to the Indian National Congress Party. He served in the office for 933 days.

The Constitution virtually gives a preeminence to the leadership of the Chief Minister by placing him at the head of the Council of Ministers.

A Chief Minister must be:

• a citizen of India.
• should be a member of the state legislature.
• 25 years of age at least.

If a person, who is not a member of the legislature, is elected chief minister, then he/she must take sign from the governor. He/she can be considered as the Chief Minister provided he/she gets himself/herself elected to the State Legislature within six months from the date of their appointment. In case this does not happen, he/she would cease to be the Chief Minister.

According to the result of the elections to the state legislative assembly, the Governor invites the party (or coalition) with a majority of seats for the formation of the government. The Chief Minister is also appointed by the Governor. He also the council of ministers in consultation with the Chief Minister.

The leader of the majority in the State Legislative Assembly is appointed as the Chief Minister who selects his team of ministers. He submits the list to the Governor who formally appoints them as ministers. Normally, all ministers are taken from the members of the state legislature.

Elections to the state legislative assembly are held every five years. Based on the result of the election, the Governor usually invites the party (or coalition) with a majority of seats to form the government. The Governor appoints the Chief Minister, whose council of ministers are collectively responsible to the assembly.

The Chief Minister has the prime responsibility of coordinating the work of all departments of the government. He has to see that all the ministers may work as a team and help each other. He resolves the conflict or deadlocks between any two or more departments. His decisions supersede the decisions of his ministers.

The Chief Minister presides over the meetings of the Cabinet. He prepares the agenda of its meetings, communicates it to the ministers and then presides over these. He can summon such meetings at any time. As chairman of the Cabinet he plays a key role in the deliberations held and the decisions taken.

The Constitution of India guarantees the citizens the right to freedom of speech and expression as the fundamental right. The government action and policies need not only be necessarily discussed in the legislature (Parliament or State legislature) but on other platforms also like holding a lawful public protest, demonstration, in newspapers, through mass media etc. An aggrieved person can also send a letter to the government office.