Chief Minister

Article 164 of our Constitution states "The Chief Minister shall be appointed by the Governor and the other Ministers shall be appointed by the Governor on the advise of the Chief Minister..."

The Council of Ministers is responsible to the Lower House which alone can vote it out. Hence, the Chief Minister should be such a person who is likely to have the confidence of the House. Of course there is the provision of dismissal of a Ministry and imposition of President's rule on the breakdown of constitutional machinery.

The State acts not only according to the Constitutional provisions but according to conventions, practices, precedents and traditions when not in conflict or contradiction to the Constitutional provisions.

So, when Mr.Rosiah was administered the oath of office as CM. the constitution was followed in toto. When the rest of the Ministry was administered the oath a second time, again the book was followed as they are to be appointed on the advise of the incumbent CM and not his predecessor.

However, some conventions established like election of the leader of the majority party or the other unhealthy convention of 'reaching a consensus under the watchful eyes of central party observers' were not followed indicating the nervousness of the ruling party. But that is a political issue.

When Rajiv Gandhi was sworn in as PM after Indira Gandhi's assassination, he was not yet elected leader of CPP. No constitutional impropriety but a goodbye to conventions.

Now, the CLP refusing to elect Mr.Rosiah as its leader but leaving the decision to the Head is an act of subtle defiance while at the same time not rocking the boat. That too it took more than a month for the party to get the nerve to convene the meet and get on with the formality is an indication of the brink to which the party was tottering.

Mr.Rosiah is an experienced, articulate and witty persons with no pretensions to pan-Andhra Pradesh popularity. Making him the CM serves the twin objectives of having the best at the helm of affairs while ensuring a non-charismatic leader who is also with little batting left.



...ponder