Chief Minister of Maharashtra

The chief minister of Maharashtra (IAST: Mahārāṣṭrāce Mukhyamaṃtrī) is the head of government of the Indian state of Maharashtra. As per the Constitution of India, the governor of Maharashtra is the state's de jure head, but de facto executive authority rests with the chief minister, a template applicable to all other Indian states. Following elections to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, the governor usually invites the political party (or a coalition of political parties) with a majority of assembly seats to form the government in the state. The governor appoints the chief minister, whose council of ministers is collectively responsible to the assembly. If the appointee is not a member of either the Legislative Council or the Legislative Assembly of Maharashtra, then the Constitution stipulates that they need to be elected within six months of being sworn in. Given that they have the confidence of the assembly, the chief minister's term is for five years, renewable, and is subject to no term limits. Usually, the chief minister also serves as leader of the house in the legislative assembly.

The state of Maharashtra was formed from parts of Bombay and Hyderabad States on 1 May 1960. Yashwantrao Chavan of the Indian National Congress, who was serving as the third chief minister of Bombay since 1956, became the first chief minister of the newly formed state. Marotrao Kannamwar succeeded him after the 1962 assembly elections, and is the only chief minister to die while in office. Vasantrao Naik, whose term extended for more than 11 years from December 1963 to February 1975, has been the longest serving chief minister. With the exception of Devendra Fadnavis of the Bharatiya Janata Party, and four people from Shiv Sena, all other chief ministers have been from the Congress and its breakaway parties. The President's rule has been imposed thrice in the state first from February to June 1980, second from September to October 2014, and lastly in November 2019.

Devendra Fadnavis is the current incumbent serving since 5 December 2024.