Question

Who appoints the chief minister?
a.Governor
b.President
c.Prime minister
d.Vice president

Answer 1

Hint: The chief minister is the ‘de facto’ head of the state. He belongs to a particular party which generally gets the majority votes in that particular state. He is a part of the executive part of the government.

Complete step by step answer: According to article 164 of the Indian constitution, the Chief Minister is appointed by the governor. One thing that becomes important here that not anyone can be appointed as the “CM”. Only the results of the state elections can determine who holds the position of the chief minister. Post elections i.e. once the results are declared, the party(or coalition) which won the majority of seats forms the government. One member from the same party is then declared as the chief minister.
Looking at the options given :
Option a- Governor appoints the chief minister, the provisions for which are provided in article 164 of the Indian constitution.
Option b- The president of India does not appoint the chief minister. It appoints the prime minister. Therefore this is a wrong option.
Option c- Prime minister plays no part in appointing the chief minister of any state, whatsoever. Therefore this option is incorrect.
Option d- The vice president has no role to play in appointing the chief minister of a state. Hence this is an incorrect option.
Option “a” is the correct option.

Note: Elections take place every 5 years in India which means that the chief ministers to a state also change every 5 years, depending on who got the majority seats. The elections are based on Universal Adult Franchise. This means that all adults 18 or above, are eligible to vote.