- K Shivakumar sworn in as Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka
- Appointment of a Deputy CM has been a long-standing feature of Indian politics.
- The post of Deputy CM represents a political compromise that often follows the formation of a coalition government or when no single leader commands unchallenged authority in the party in power and loyalty across all key interest groups.
- The first leader to hold the post of deputy CM in independent India was the Congress’s Anugrah Narayan Sinha.
- He was one of the tallest leaders to emerge from Bihar, termed the “mason of modern Bihar and its politics”.
- Later on, Karpoori thakur became deputy CM in 1967.
- Subsequently more states began to follow this pattern.
- At present 11 states in the country have Deputy CMs.
- In the northeastern states, where multi-party coalition governments are the norm, four of the seven states have Deputy CMs.
SOURCE: THE HINDU, THE ECONOMIC TIMES, PIB