It is learned that several Chief Ministers of India, even belonging to different political parties and faiths, adorn themselves with the largest portfolio in their state, especially the Home Department is their general choice.
Be it the BJP’s Yogi Adityanath, the CPM’s Pinarayi Vijayan or the AAP’s Bhagwant Mani, although they are often seen clashed politically, they have similarities in multiple portfolios under them.
Adityanath, who was sworn in as Uttar Pradesh chief minister for a second term last month, has 34 divisions under his charge, while his Kerala and Punjab rivals, Pinarayi Vijayan and Bhagwant Mann, have 27 portfolios under them.
The same is true of Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami – 23 portfolios – Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren – 19 portfolios – Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar – 16 portfolios – and Rajasthan’s Ashok Gehlot – 10 portfolios.
Interestingly, with the exception of Khattar, all the above mentioned Chief Ministers have placed the Home Department in their charge.
So, why do chief ministers choose to keep most of their portfolios to themselves when they already have so much more to oversee the performance of their state?
Why the important Home Department is a hot favorite, so 17 chief ministers currently run it, the reason is straightforward: it gives them direct control over the state police
However, according to Prithviraj Chavan, former chief minister of Maharashtra, this tendency to own most of the portfolios of chief ministers reflects “insecurity and a desire for control”. Print.
“A chief minister reflects insecurity and a desire to control the maximum number of departments,” Chavan said.
“Some chief ministers prefer to have 30-40 portfolios and rarely share any power with the cabinet. These are authoritarian personalities who want to control the flock. Even the government of Mr. (Narendra) Modi in Gujarat was the same. He worked with many state ministers and kept most of the departments to himself, “the report quoted Chavan as saying.
Chavan added that no one could do justice to so many departments, adding that it was “a way to deny other colleagues the opportunity to grow.”
On the other hand, a retired IAS officer, who is a former chief secretary, had a different opinion to share. He said that whatever is important in a particular state, the chief minister usually wants to keep up with them.
“Industry is an important sector in Gujarat, for example, but not so much in Uttar Pradesh. Money is not a preferred portfolio for the technical reasons involved. It is mostly a function of redistribution and distribution, “the officer was quoted as saying.
There are some chief ministers who do not have a small portfolio, Arvind Kejriwal of Delhi, K Chandrashekhar Rao of Telangana and Pema Khandu of Arunachal Pradesh.
Some civil servants said that portfolio allocations were also important, such as the size of the state, the politics of the coalition, the real reasons and the sensitivity of the department under consideration.
“The number of portfolios of a chief minister depends on various factors, including political background and the type of cabinet ministers in the hands of a chief minister. This is not a one-size-fits-all approach, ”said the second retired government employee.
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