The office of the Chief Minister is vested with the maximum power in the government, although the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh is made answerable to the Governor. Precisely, it can be said that the Chief Minister is the head of the state of Madhya Pradesh government.
Chief Minister is elected as the head of the government through a general election, and the party that gets the majority nominates its leader as candidate for the post of Chief Minister.
The Chief Minister is elected for a term of 5 years; but a Chief Minister can be re-elected after the expiry of his tenure, i. e. a person can nominate himself as the prospective candidate owing to the response he gets from the general public.
Some of the famous Chief Ministers of Madhya Pradesh who will always be remembered in Indian political system are:
It is noteworthy that beside these Chief Ministers in Madhya Pradesh there has been times when the administration of Madhya Pradesh went under the domain of the President of India.
Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who is the present Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, has been a good administrator since his appointment on 29th November, 2005.
Although the Governor elects the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, but it on the advise of the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh that the Governor takes some crucial decisions like:
Although the constitution of India has rendered the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh answerable to the Governor, it is the Chief Minister who enjoys the highest administrative position.
| Sr.No. | Chief Ministers Name | To | Party Name | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pt. Ravishankar Shukla | Nov 1, 1956 | Dec 31, 1956 | INC |
| 2 | Bhagwantrao Mandloi | Jan 1, 1957 | Jan 30, 1957 | INC |
| 3 | Kailash Nath Katju | Jan 31, 1957 | Mar 14, 1957 | INC |
| 4 | Kailash Nath Katju | Mar 14, 1957 | Mar 11, 1962 | INC |
| 5 | Bhagwantrao Mandloi | Mar 12, 1962 | Sep 29, 1963 | INC |
| 6 | Dwarka Prasad Mishra | Sep 30, 1963 | Mar 8, 1967 | INC |
| 7 | Dwarka Prasad Mishra | Mar 9, 1967 | Jul 29, 1967 | INC |
| 8 | Govind Narayan Singh | Jul 30, 1967 | Mar 12, 1969 | INC |
| 9 | Raja Nareshchandra Singh | Mar 13, 1969 | Mar 25, 1969 | INC |
| 10 | Shyama Charan Shukla | Mar 26, 1969 | Jan 28, 1972 | INC |
| 11 | Prakash Chandra Sethi | Jan 29, 1972 | Mar 22, 1972 | INC |
| 12 | Prakash Chandra Sethi | Mar 23, 1972 | Dec 22, 1975 | INC |
| 13 | Shyama Charan Shukla | Dec 23, 1975 | Apr 29, 1977 | INC |
| President's rule | Apr 29, 1977 | Jun 25, 1977 | ||
| 14 | Kailash Chandra Joshi | Jun 26, 1977 | Jan 17, 1978 | Janata Party |
| 15 | Virendra Kumar Saklecha | Jan 18, 1978 | Jan 19, 1980 | Janata Party |
| 16 | Sunderlal Patwa | Jan 20, 1980 | Feb 17, 1980 | Janata Party |
| President's rule | Feb 18, 1980 | Jun 8, 1980 | ||
| 17 | Arjun Singh | Jun 8, 1980 | Mar 10, 1985 | INC |
| 18 | Arjun Singh | Mar 11, 1985 | Mar 12, 1985 | INC |
| 19 | Motilal Vora | Mar 13, 1985 | Feb 13, 1988 | INC |
| 20 | Arjun Singh | Feb 14, 1988 | Jan 24, 1989 | INC |
| 21 | Motilal Vora | Jan 25, 1989 | Dec 8, 1989 | INC |
| 22 | Shyama Charan Shukla | Dec 9, 1989 | Mar 4, 1990 | INC |
| 23 | Sunderlal Patwa | Mar 5, 1990 | Dec 15, 1992 | BJP |
| President's rule | Dec 16, 1992 | Dec 6, 1993 | ||
| 24 | Digvijay Singh | Dec 7, 1993 | Dec 1, 1998 | INC |
| 25 | Digvijay Singh | Dec 1, 1998 | Dec 8, 2003 | INC |
| 26 | Uma Bharti | Dec 8, 2003 | Aug 23, 2004 | BJP |
| 27 | Babulal Gaur | Aug 23, 2004 | Nov 29, 2005 | BJP |
| 28 | Shivraj Singh Chauhan | Nov 29, 2005 | Dec 12, 2008 | BJP |
| 29 | Shivraj Singh Chauhan | Dec 13, 2008 | Present | BJP |
