Appointment of Chief Minister
- As per Article 164 of the Constitution, the chief minister is appointed by the governor.
- A leader of the party that has got the majority share of votes in the assembly elections, is appointed as the Chief Minister of the state.
Term of the Chief Minister
- The term of the Chief Minister is not fixed and he holds office during the pleasure of the governor.
- He cannot be dismissed by the governor as long as he enjoys the majority support in the legislative assembly.
Removal of Chief Minister
- The State Legislative Assembly can also remove him by passing a vote of no-confidence against him.
Functions of Chief Minister
- With Respect to Council of Ministers
- The governor appoints only those persons as ministers who are recommended by the Chief Minister.
- He allocates and reshuffles the portfolios among ministers.
- He can bring about the collapse of the council of ministers by resigning from office, since the Chief Minister is the head of the council of ministers.
- With Respect to Governor
- Under Article 167 of the Constitution, the Chief Minister acts as a link between the Governor and state council of ministers.
- The Chief Minister advises the Governor regarding the appointment of important officials like advocate general, chairman and members of the State Public Service Commission, State Election Commission, etc.
- With Respect to State Legislature
- All the policies are announced by him on the floor of the house.
- He recommends dissolution of legislative assembly to the Governor.
- Other Functions
- He is the chairman of the State Planning Board.
- He acts as a vice-chairman of the concerned zonal council by rotation, holding office for a period of one year at a time.
- He is a member of the Inter-State Council and the Governing Council of NITI Aayog, both headed by the prime minister.
- He is the chief spokesman of the state government.
- He is the crisis manager-in-chief at the political level during emergencies.
- As a leader of the state, he meets various sections of the people and receives memoranda from them regarding their problems, and so on.
- He is the political head of the services.