Arun Sao, Vijay Sharma get Deputy CM and Raman Singh to be Speaker in Chhattisgarh

After the selection of Vishnu Deo Sai as Chhattisgarh’s new Chief Minister, the former Chief Minister Dr. Raman Singh gets the designation of speaker in the Chhattisgarh Assembly while former MP Arun Sao and Vijay Sharma get the posts of Deputy Chief Ministers in the state.

Deputy Chief Ministers are not constitutional designations and do not carry any special powers. However, traditionally they are allocated core ministries such as finance, revenue or home.

Seats of the Leaders

Dr. Raman Singh won the 2023 Assembly Elections from the Rajnandgaon assembly constituency with a margin of 45,084 votes.

Arun Sao won from the Lormi constituency with a margin of 45,891 votes. He was earlier the MP from Bilaspur which also includes Lormi. Sao had specifically resigned from Lok Sabha on 6 Dec 2023 after winning the 2023 Assembly Elections.

Vijay Sharma won with 39,592 votes from the Kawardha assembly constituency.

Source: results.eci.gov.in

Increasing Usage of Deputy CM Designation

The designation of Deputy CM is not a constitutional post but has been used as a consolation prize to accommodate the ambitions of senior leaders who could not be the Chief Minister.

Article 164 of the Indian Constitution says the Chief Minister shall be appointed by the Governor and other ministers shall be appointed by the Governor based on the advice of the Chief Minister.

There is no mention of a Deputy Chief Minister or even a Deputy Prime Minister (last appointee Lal Krishna Advani).