Chief Minister of Maharashtra

Chief Minister of Maharashtra
Mahārāṣṭrāce Mukhyamaṃtrī
since 5 December 2024
StyleThe Honourable
Mr. Chief Minister
His Excellency
StatusHead of Government
AbbreviationCMoMaharashtra
Member of
Reports toGovernor of Maharashtra
Maharashtra Legislature
ResidenceVarsha Bungalow, Malabar Hill, Mumbai
SeatMantralaya, Mumbai
AppointerGovernor of Maharashtra
by convention based on appointees ability to command confidence in the Legislative Assembly
Term lengthAt the confidence of the assembly
5 years and is subject to no term limits.[1]
Precursor
Inaugural holder
Formation1 May 1960 (1960-05-01)
DeputyDeputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra
Salary4.08 million (US$48,000) annually
WebsiteCMO Maharashtra

The chief minister of Maharashtra (IAST: Mahārāṣṭrāce Mukhyamaṃtrī) is the head of government of the Indian state of Maharashtra. As per the Constitution of India, the governor of Maharashtra is the state's de jure head, but de facto executive authority rests with the chief minister, a template applicable to all other Indian states. Following elections to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, the governor usually invites the political party (or a coalition of political parties) with a majority of assembly seats to form the government in the state. The governor appoints the chief minister, whose council of ministers is collectively responsible to the assembly. If the appointee is not a member of either the Legislative Council or the Legislative Assembly of Maharashtra, then the Constitution stipulates that they need to be elected within six months of being sworn in.[2] Given that they have the confidence of the assembly, the chief minister's term is for five years, renewable, and is subject to no term limits.[1] Usually, the chief minister also serves as leader of the house in the legislative assembly.[3]

The state of Maharashtra was formed from parts of Bombay and Hyderabad States on 1 May 1960.[4] Yashwantrao Chavan of the Indian National Congress, who was serving as the third chief minister of Bombay since 1956, became the first chief minister of the newly formed state. Marotrao Kannamwar succeeded him after the 1962 assembly elections, and is the only chief minister to die while in office.[5][6] Vasantrao Naik, whose term extended for more than 11 years from December 1963 to February 1975, has been the longest serving chief minister. With the exception of Devendra Fadnavis of the Bharatiya Janata Party, and four people from Shiv Sena, all other chief ministers have been from the Congress and its breakaway parties.[7][8][9] The President's rule has been imposed thrice in the state first from February to June 1980, second from September to October 2014, and lastly in November 2019.[10][11]

Devendra Fadnavis is the current incumbent serving since 5 December 2024.[12]

Predecessors

Prime ministers of Bombay (1937–47)

The Bombay Presidency, which existed during the British Raj, was led by the prime minister of Bombay since the creation of the post in 1937.

#[a] Portrait Name Term of office Assembly Appointed

by

(Governor)

Party
1 Dhanjishah Cooper 1 April 1937 19 July 1937[13] 140 days 1st Provincial

(1937 Elections)

The Lord Brabourne Independent
2 Balasaheb Gangadhar Kher 19 July 1937[13][14] 2 November 1939[15] 2 years, 106 days Robert Duncan Bell Indian National Congress
- Vacant

(Governor's Rule)

2 November

1939

30 March 1946 6 years, 148 days Dissolved - N/A
(2) Balasaheb Gangadhar Kher 30 March 1946 15 August 1947 1 year, 138 days 2nd

Provincial (1946 Elections)

John Colville Indian National Congress

Chief ministers of Bombay (1947–60)

Following the Indian Independence in 1947, the province of Bombay was established from the erstwhile Bombay Presidency. The Bombay State was created in 1950 following the adoption of the Constitution of India and its territory underwent constant change in the following years. It comprised the Bombay province (roughly equating to the present-day Indian state of Maharashtra, excluding South Maharashtra and Vidarbha) and parts of the princely states of the Baroda, Western India and Gujarat (part of present-day Gujarat) and Deccan states (parts of the present-day Maharashtra and Karnataka).[16] During the reorganisation of Indian states in 1956, the Bombay state was enlarged by the addition of Saurashtra and Kutch States, the Marathi-speaking districts of Nagpur Division of Madhya Pradesh and Marathwada region of Hyderabad State, while the southernmost districts of the state were transferred to Mysore State.[17]

#[a] Portrait Name Constituency Term of office Assembly Appointed by

(Governor)

Party
1 Balasaheb Gangadhar Kher MLC 15 August 1947 21 April 1952 4 years, 250 days Provincial Assembly

1946 election)

John Colville Indian National Congress
2 Morarji Desai Bulsar Chikhli 21 April 1952 31 October 1956 4 years, 193 days 1st

(1952 elections)

Raja Maharaj Singh
3 Yashwantrao Chavan Karad North 1 November 1956 5 April 1957 3 years, 181 days 1st

(1952 elections)

Harekrushna Mahatab Indian National Congress
5 April 1957 30 April 1960 2nd

(1957 elections)

Sri Prakasa

Chief ministers of Maharashtra

The Bombay state was dissolved to form the present-day states of Maharashtra and Gujarat by the Bombay Reorganisation Act, 1960, which was enacted by the Parliament of India on 25 April 1960 and came into effect on 1 May 1960.[4][18]

No Portrait Name Constituency Term of office Assembly Party

(Alliance)[8]

Took office Left office Duration
1 Yashwantrao Chavan Karad North 1 May 1960 20 November 1962 2 years, 203 days 1st

(1957 elections)

Indian National Congress
2 Marotrao Kannamwar Saoli 20 November 1962 24 November 1963 † 1 year, 4 days 2nd

(1962 election)

3 P. K. Sawant Chiplun 25 November 1963 5 December 1963 10 days
4 Vasantrao Naik Pusad 5 December 1963 1 March 1967 11 years, 78 days
1 March 1967 13 March 1972 3rd

(1967 election)

13 March 1972 21 February 1975 4th

(1972 election)

5 Shankarrao Chavan Bhokar 21 February 1975 17 May 1977 2 years, 85 days
6 Vasantdada Patil MLC 17 May 1977 5 March 1978 1 year, 62 days
Sangli 5 March 1978 18 July 1978 5th

(1978 election)

Indian National Congress (U)
7 Sharad Pawar Baramati 18 July 1978 17 February 1980 1 year, 214 days Indian Congress (Socialist)
Vacant[b]

(President's rule)

N/A 17 February 1980 8 June 1980 112 days Dissolved[20] N/A
8 A. R. Antulay Shrivardhan 9 June 1980 21 January 1982 1 year, 226 days 6th

(1980 election)

Indian National Congress
9 Babasaheb Bhosale Nehrunagar 21 January 1982 2 February 1983 1 year, 12 days
(6) Vasantdada Patil Sangli 2 February 1983 3 June 1985 2 years, 121 days
10 Shivajirao Patil Nilangekar Nilanga 3 June 1985 12 March 1986 282 days 7th

(1985 election)

(5) Shankarrao Chavan MLC 12 March 1986 26 June 1988 2 years, 106 days
(7) Sharad Pawar Baramati 26 June 1988 4 March 1990 2 years, 364 days
4 March 1990 25 June 1991 8th

(1990 election)

11 Sudhakarrao Naik Pusad 25 June 1991 6 March 1993 1 year, 254 days
(7) Sharad Pawar MLC 6 March 1993[§] 14 March 1995 2 years, 8 days
12 Manohar Joshi Dadar 14 March 1995 1 February 1999 3 years, 324 days 9th

(1995 election)

Shiv Sena

(NDA)

13 Narayan Rane Malvan 1 February 1999 18 October 1999 259 days
14 Vilasrao Deshmukh Latur 18 October 1999 18 January 2003 3 years, 92 days 10th

(1999 election)

Indian National Congress

(MA)

15 Sushilkumar Shinde Solapur South 18 January 2003 1 November 2004 1 year, 288 days
(14) Vilasrao Deshmukh Latur 1 November 2004[§] 8 December 2008 4 years, 37 days 11th

(2004 election)

16 Ashok Chavan Mudkhed 8 December 2008 7 November 2009 1 year, 338 days
Bhokar 7 November 2009 11 November 2010 12th

(2009 election)

17 Prithviraj Chavan MLC 11 November 2010 28 September 2014 3 years, 321 days
Vacant[b]

(President's rule)

N/A 28 September 2014 30 October 2014 32 days Dissolved N/A
18 Devendra Fadnavis Nagpur South West 31 October 2014 12 November 2019 5 years, 12 days 13th

(2014 election)

Bharatiya Janata Party

(MY)

- Vacant[b]

(President's rule)

12 November 2019 23 November 2019 11 days 14th

(2019 election)

N/A
(18) Devendra Fadnavis Nagpur South West 23 November 2019 28 November 2019 5 days[c] Bharatiya Janata Party

(BJP-NCP)

19 Uddhav Thackeray MLC 28 November 2019 30 June 2022 2 years, 214 days Shiv Sena

(MVA)

20 Eknath Shinde Kopri-Pachpakhadi 30 June 2022 5 December 2024 2 years, 158 days Shiv Sena

(MY)

(18) Devendra Fadnavis Nagpur South West 5 December 2024 Incumbent 1 year, 108 days 15th

(2024 election)

Bharatiya Janata Party

(MY)

Statistics

Time of office by party (as of 19 March 2026)
  1. Indian National Congress (73.1%)
  2. Shiv Sena (14.8%)
  3. Bharatiya Janata Party (9.14%)
  4. Indian Congress (Socialist) (2.44%)
  5. Indian National Congress (U) (0.57%)
# Chief Minister Party Length of term
Longest tenure Total tenure
1 Vasantrao Naik INC 11 years, 78 days 11 years, 78 days
2 Vilasrao Deshmukh INC 4 years, 37 days 7 years, 129 days
3 Sharad Pawar INC/IC(S) 2 years, 364 days 6 years, 221 days
4 Devendra Fadnavis BJP 5 years, 12 days 6 years, 125 days
5 Shankarrao Chavan INC 2 years, 106 days 4 years, 191 days
6 Manohar Joshi SS 3 years, 324 days 3 years, 324 days
7 Prithviraj Chavan INC 3 years, 321 days 3 years, 321 days
8 Vasantdada Patil INC(U)/INC 2 years, 121 days 3 years, 183 days
9 Uddhav Thackeray SS 2 years, 214 days 2 years, 214 days
10 Yashwantrao Chavan INC 2 years, 203 days 2 years, 203 days
11 Eknath Shinde SS 2 years, 158 days 2 years, 158 days
12 Ashok Chavan INC 1 year, 338 days 1 year, 338 days
13 Sushilkumar Shinde INC 1 year, 288 days 1 year, 288 days
14 Sudhakarrao Naik INC 1 year, 254 days 1 year, 254 days
15 A. R. Antulay INC 1 year, 226 days 1 year, 226 days
16 Babasaheb Bhosale INC 1 year, 12 days 1 year, 12 days
17 Marotrao Kannamwar INC 1 year, 4 days 1 year, 4 days
18 Shivajirao Patil Nilangekar INC 282 days 282 days
19 Narayan Rane SS 259 days 259 days
20 P. K. Sawant INC 10 days 10 days

Timeline

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b A parenthetical number indicates that the incumbent has previously held office.
  2. ^ a b c Under Article 356 of the Constitution of India, in the event that a state government is unable to function according to constitutional provisions, the Central government can take direct control of the state machinery through the Governor. When President's rule is in force in a state, its council of ministers stands dissolved. The office of chief minister thus lies vacant. At times, the legislative assembly also stands dissolved.[19]
  3. ^ Fadnavis sworn in as the chief minister on 23 November 2019 at 8:00 am and resigned on 26 November 2019 at 4:00 pm making him the chief minister with the shortest tenure across Indian states.[21][22][23] P. K. Sawant from Congress, who had served from 25 November 1963 to 4 December 1963, had previously held the office of the chief minister of Maharashtra for the fewest days.[24]

References

  1. ^ a b Durga Das Basu (2008) [1st pub. 1960]. Introduction to the Constitution of India (20 ed.). LexisNexis Butterworths Wadhwa. pp. 241–245. ISBN 978-81-8038-559-9. Although the text talks about Indian state governments in general, it applies for the specific case of Maharashtra as well.
  2. ^ "Chavan elected to Legislative Council". Business Line. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  3. ^ "Leader of the House". Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  4. ^ a b "The Bombay Reorganisation Act, 1960" (PDF). India Code - Digital Repository of Legislation. 25 April 1960. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 May 2018.
  5. ^ "Before Jayalalithaa, 16 chief ministers who died in office". The Indian Express. 7 December 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  6. ^ "Jayalalithaa is dead: Here are other chief ministers who died while still in office". Firstpost. 7 December 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  7. ^ "Down but not out". The Telegraph. 10 July 2011. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014.
  8. ^ a b Palshikar, Suhas; Birmal, Nitin; Ghotale, Vivek (2010). Coalitions in Maharashtra Political fragmentation or Social Reconfiguration? (PDF) (Report). Savitribai Phule University.
  9. ^ "Indira Gandhi installed as president of break-away faction of Congress Party". India Today. 21 April 2015. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  10. ^ "Use of President's Rule peaked on February 17, 1980: Some facts". India Today. 17 February 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  11. ^ "President's rule: 'Unprecedented but logical'". Business Line. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  12. ^ "Devendra Fadnavis takes oath as Maha CM, Shinde & Ajit his deputies". The Times of India. 4 December 2024. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  13. ^ a b Bombay 1937-1938: A Review of the Administration of the Bombay Presidency. Mumbai: Government Central Press, Bombay. 1939. pp. 160–161.
  14. ^ "Chief Ministers (1937 to 2019)" (PDF). Maharashtra Legislature (in Marathi). Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  15. ^ "Forgotten fact: Most Mumbaiites are breaking the law when they grab a drink". 17 May 2015.
  16. ^ Desai, S. H. (1972). A critical study of the development of secondary education for girls in Gujarat its history and present day problems. Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda. pp. 411–420. hdl:10603/57937.
  17. ^ "The States Reorganisation Act, 1956" (PDF). India Code. 31 August 1956. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 May 2018.
  18. ^ "Explained: How Gujarat, Maharashtra came into being". The Indian Express. 1 May 2019. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  19. ^ Amberish K. Diwanji (15 March 2005). "A dummy's guide to President's rule". Rediff.com. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
  20. ^ "Information sought under RTI Act, 2005" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs. 27 June 2014. p. 7. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  21. ^ "Why Was Devendra Fadnavis Maharashtra CM For Just 80 Hours? BJP MP Answers". Huffington Post. 2 December 2019. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  22. ^ "After 80 hours as Maharashtra CM, Fadnavis submits resignation to governor". Live Mint. 26 November 2019. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  23. ^ "Only 80 hrs: Devendra Fadnavis becomes Maharashtra CM with shortest tenure ever". India Today. 26 November 2019. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  24. ^ "Maharashtra: Only 80 hours – Fadnavis now CM for shortest tenure in state history". The Indian Express. 27 November 2019. Retrieved 20 December 2019.