Chief Minister

The Council of Ministers with the Chief Minister as its head functions as the real executive. Their term of office is for five years, but they remain in office till they enjoy the support of the majority in the Assembly.

Appointment

If a person who is appointed as the Chief Minister or a Minister, is not a member of the State Legislature, he or she has to become member of any of the two houses within six months of his/her appointment. The portfolios or different ministries are allocated to the Ministers by the Governor on the advice of the Chief Minister.

Functions

Chief Minister is the Head of the Government in the State. He or She plays very important roles:

• advises the Governor on the appointment of Council of Ministers and allocation of portfolios to them
• presides over the meetings of the State Council of Ministers and also coordinates the functioning of different ministers
• guides the framing of the policies and programmes for the State and gives approvals of the Bills that are introduced by the Ministers in the State Legislature
• is the sole link of communication between the Council of Ministers and the Governor

Position of the Chief Minister

The Chief Minister is the real executive head of the State. It is he/she who formulates the policies and guides the Council of Ministers to implement them. He or She is the most powerful functionary, especially when one political party has an absolute majority in the Legislative Assembly. But if he or she heads a coalition government, the role gets restricted by the pulls and pressures of other partners of the coalition.