Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar with CM Siddaramaiah
Karnataka Pradesh Congress President DK Shivakumar has now become deputy CM in eleven states in the country as soon as he took oath and assumed office. Congress Party President Mallikarjun Kharge Siddaramaiah announced as Chief Minister of Karnataka, and with DK Shivakumar (DK Shivakumar) To the Deputy Chief Minister. He was appointed as the Deputy Chief Minister on Saturday, 20 May.
Well in Indian politics Deputy Chief Minister (Deputy CM) The tradition of the post is long. For many years, the party has been putting its senior leader on this post. It is understood that when there is another leader within the party who is equal to the Chief Minister, then he is given the post of deputy. Or in coalition governments, deputy CMs are made under a common program.
What is the post of Deputy CM?
Article 164 deals with the appointment of the Council of Ministers of the states. It states that the Chief Minister will be appointed by the Governor and other ministers will be appointed by the Governor on the advice of the Chief Minister. And the ministers will hold office at the pleasure of the Governor.
This post is considered equivalent to the post of a cabinet minister (in the state). Just as cabinet ministers get the benefits of tax-free salary and other perks, similarly a deputy chief minister also gets it.
The post of deputy CM in the mirror of history
The first leader to hold the post of deputy CM in any state was Anugrah Narayan Sinha of Congress. He took over the post of Deputy CM in Bihar in 1946 itself. Remained on this post till his death (1957). He was one of the fast emerging leaders of Bihar at that time. He is also called the mason of modern Bihar and its politics.
Anugrah Narayan Sinha was one of the important Congress leaders during the time of the first Chief Minister of Bihar, Dr. Krishna Singh. After him Karpoori Thakur, Ram Jaipal Singh Yadav, Sushil Kumar Modi and then Tejashwi Prasad Yadav sat on this post in Bihar.
Deputy CM of Uttar Pradesh
In April 1967, when Chaudhary Charan Singh became the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Bharatiya Jana Sangh leader Ram Prakash Gupta was appointed as the Deputy CM. After this, Kamlapati Tripathi became the deputy CM of the state.
Although this practice remained closed for the next decade. But when Banarasi Das became CM in 1979, Ram Naresh Yadav took oath as Deputy CM. After the BSP and SP government in the state, when the BJP government came, for the first time in the year 2017, two deputy CMs Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dinesh Sharma became.
In 2022 also, the tradition of two deputy CMs continued in the state. This time, apart from Keshav Prasad Maurya, Brajesh Pathak was also made deputy CM.
Madhya Pradesh and Haryana
Like UP, in July 1967, Virendra Kumar Saklecha of Bharatiya Jana Sangh was made deputy CM in Madhya Pradesh under the leadership of Govind Narayan Singh. In 1980, Bhanu Solanki became the deputy CM during the time of Congress leader Arjun Singh. On the other hand, Subhash Yadav of Khargone was the deputy CM in the Digvijay Singh government. After this, Jamuna Devi also took oath as Deputy CM.
On the other hand, there has been a tradition of Deputy Chief Minister in Haryana as well. Chandra Mohan, son of former CM Bhajan Lal, held this position from 2005 to 2008 in the Congress government led by Bhupinder Singh Hooda. Since 2017, Jannayak Janata Party leader Dushyant Chautala is the deputy CM in the BJP government led by Manohar Lal Khattar.
Punjab was also not untouched
This practice was stopped to a great extent in Punjab. Later Shiromani Akali Dal President Sukhbir Singh Badal was the deputy during the time of his father Parkash Singh Badal. At the same time, during the Congress government of Charanjit Singh Channi, two deputy CMs were appointed for the first time in 2021 – Sukhjinder Singh and Om Prakash Soni.
Importance of the post of Deputy CM
In any state government, apart from general administration, the two top portfolios – vigilance and home – generally rest with the chief minister. Only the Chief Minister has the power of transfer-posting of first class officers.
But the Deputy CM gets one or two portfolios as any other cabinet minister. Apart from the Finance Minister, he can get portfolios from Agriculture, Sports and Youth Affairs, Women and Child. Apart from this, in the absence of the Chief Minister, the Deputy CM is the head of the administration of the state.
Also read: How many cases are pending against Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar?
