Why is it in the News?

Currently, there are 26 deputy CMs across 14 states. The post, not mentioned in the Constitution, is nevertheless a long-standing feature of Indian politics.

Context:

• The tradition of appointing a deputy CM in Indian politics is a well-established practice, typically arising from political negotiations, especially in coalition governments or situations where a single leader lacks undisputed authority within the ruling party or support across key interest groups in the state.
• This trend is gaining prominence, evident in the four out of five states that underwent elections in November—Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, and Chhattisgarh—all currently having deputy CMs.
• With the exception of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, most major states also feature the position of deputy CM.

What is the Post of Deputy CM?

• Article 163(1) of the Constitution says “There shall be a Council of Ministers with the Chief Minister at the head to aid and advise the Governor in the exercise of his functions”.
• Neither Article 163 nor Article 164 mentions the post of Deputy Chief Minister.
• The post of Deputy CM is understood as being equivalent in rank to that of Cabinet Minister (in the state).
• The Deputy CM enjoys the same pay and perks as a Cabinet Minister.

Across Various States:

• At least 13 other states in the country apart from Bihar currently have Deputy CMs.
• The other states include:
  • Maharashtra, Haryana, UP, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh
• The highest of these is in Andhra Pradesh, with Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy having five Deputy CMs.

A Brief History of the Deputy CM Post:

• Perhaps the first Deputy CM in India was Anugrah Narayan Sinha, who was the most important leader of the Congress in Bihar after the first Chief Minister of the state, Dr Srikrishna Singh (Sinha).
• Deputy CMs were seen in more states, especially after the reduction of Congress’s near-total dominance in national politics after 1967.
• Bihar: Anugrah Narayan Sinha remained Deputy CM until his death in 1957.
  • Karpoori Thakur became the second Deputy CM of Bihar in 1967, in the state’s first non-Congress government led by Mahamaya Prasad Sinha.
• Uttar Pradesh: Ram Prakash Gupta of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS) became Deputy Chief Minister in the Samyukta Vidhayak Dal (SVD) government that came to power in 1967 with Chaudhary Charan Singh as Chief Minister.
  • This experiment was repeated in the next government under Chief Minister Chandra Bhanu Gupta of the Congress — when Kamalapati Tripathi was sworn in as Deputy CM in February 1969.
  • Both Ram Prakash Gupta and Tripathi went on to become CMs themselves.
• Madhya Pradesh: Virendra Kumar Saklecha of the BJS became Deputy CM in the SVD government led by Govind Narain Singh who came to power in July 1967.
• Haryana: Haryana has had a tradition of Deputy CMs; Chaudhary Chand Ram, a Jat leader from Rohtak, was the first to hold this position in the short-lived government led by Rao Birender Singh.

What are the Powers of the Deputy CM?

• More than the post of deputy chief minister, it is the nature of portfolios allocated to a deputy chief minister that decides how much weight the person carries in the cabinet.
• Chief ministers are often seen to keep most of the important portfolios like home and vigilance with themselves.
  • If it's a coalition government, then senior leaders of the largest coalition partner usually get finance and revenue.
• The chief minister is also the sole authority on the transfer and posting of Class-I officers in the state.
  • The deputy chief minister does not have a say in this matter.
• The deputy chief minister gets the same pay and perks as enjoyed by other cabinet-rank ministers in the government.
  • They, however, enjoy tax-free pay and perks.
• In the matters of administration, the deputy chief minister holds no authority to see the files earmarked for the chief minister.
  • In fact, the deputy chief minister is required to route all files pertaining to the portfolios allocated to her to the chief minister for clearance.
• The deputy chief minister cannot claim to preside over a cabinet meeting on her own or issue directions to other departments than allocated to her by the chief minister.
• The deputy chief minister, like any other minister, needs to seek clearance from the chief minister for expenditure over and above the budget allocated to her departments.
• Yet, deputy chief ministers are politically significant.
• It conveys the political weight the party - in the case of the coalition government - or the leader carries in the ruling dispensation.
  • This is virtually a declaration that the leader who is appointed as deputy chief minister is Number 2 in the government.
• This aside, the number of deputy chief ministers in a government reflects factions in the ruling dispensation that need to be balanced for survival or the government's hitch-free run.
• Even in oath-taking, the Constitution does not provide for a separate oath for the deputy chief minister or deputy minister.

What are the Concerns?

• Lack of constitutional backing and unclear roles can allow the Chief Minister to exploit the position arbitrarily.
• Unlimited appointments of Deputy CMs may lead to excessive appeasement of coalition partners.
• Duplication of roles with Cabinet ministers could create governance and administrative challenges.

What Lies Ahead?

• There's a need to clearly define the roles and responsibilities of Deputy CMs.
• Implementing a limit on the number of Deputy CMs per Chief Minister could streamline the role.
• It's essential to raise political awareness among Indian citizens about this position.

Deputy Prime Ministers:

• India has also seen several Deputy Prime Ministers — a post that was first held by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel when Jawaharlal Nehru was Prime Minister.
  • Nehru and Patel were the two tallest leaders of the Congress at the time and were also seen as representing two different streams of thinking within the party.
• Among those who held the position subsequently were Morarji Desai, Charan Singh, Chaudhary Devi Lal, and Lal Krishna Advani.
• Devi Lal’s appointment as Deputy PM in VP Singh’s government in 1989 was challenged in court on the ground that “the oath administered to him as such was not…in accordance with the prescription of the Constitution”.
  • In K M Sharma vs Devi Lal and Ors (1990), the Supreme Court upheld Devi Lal’s appointment “in view of the clear statement made by the learned Attorney General that Respondent No. 1 (Devi Lal) is just a Minister like other members of the Council of Ministers, though he has been described as Deputy Prime Minister.
  • The description of him as Deputy Prime Minister does not confer on him any powers of the Prime Minister”.