At the time of India's independence in 1947, the region known as Rajputana included various princely states[a] and the province of Ajmer-Merwara. Over time, these areas were gradually integrated to form the modern Indian state of Rajasthan. The integration occurred in seven stages, from March 1948 to November 1956.[2] On 18 March 1948, the states of Alwar, Bharatpur, Dholpur, and Karauli merged their territories to form the Matsya Union, with Shobha Ram becoming its prime minister.[3] Shortly after, on 25 March 1948, the Rajasthan Union was formed by the states of Bundi, Kota, Jhalawar, Dungarpur, Banswara, Pratapgarh, Kishangarh, Tonk, Shahpura and the chiefship of Lawa, with Gokul Lal Asava serving as its first prime minister.[4] On 18 April 1948, Udaipur State joined the Union, and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru inaugurated the newly named United State of Rajasthan, with Manikya Lal Verma becoming its prime minister.[5] Later, on 30 March 1949, the states of Jaipur, Jodhpur, Bikaner, and Jaisalmer merged into the union, which was then renamed the United State of Greater Rajasthan. Hiralal Shastri became the prime minister on 7 April 1949. On 15 May 1949, the Matsya Union joined the United State of Greater Rajasthan.[6]
From 26 January 1950, the state officially came to be known as Rajasthan, with Shashtri continuing as its first chief minister.[7] On 3 March 1952, following the first legislative assembly election, Tika Ram Paliwal of the Indian National Congress became the first elected chief minister of the state.[8] Since 1949, three people have served as Prime Minister and fourteen people have served as chief minister of Rajasthan. Mohan Lal Sukhadia of the Congress party is the longest-serving chief minister, having been sworn in four times and serving for over sixteen years. Vasundhara Raje Scindia of the Bharatiya Janata Party is the only female to have held this position.[9] Since 1998, no chief minister or political party has retained power after completing one term, a trend that continued in the recent elections.[10] After a victory with 115 seats in the 2023 assembly elections, Bhajan Lal Sharma of the Bharatiya Janata Party succeeded Ashok Gehlot of the Indian National Congress.[11][12]
^ abThis column only names the chief minister's party. The state government he heads may be a complex coalition of several parties and independents; these are not listed here.
^ abcdPresident's rule may be imposed when the "government in a state is not able to function as per the Constitution", which often happens because no party or coalition has a majority in the assembly. When President's rule is in force in a state, its council of ministers stands dissolved. The office of chief minister thus lies vacant, and the administration is taken over by the governor, who functions on behalf of the central government. At times, the legislative assembly also stands dissolved.[15]
References
^ abDurga Das Basu. Introduction to the Constitution of India. 1960. 20th Edition, 2011 Reprint. pp. 241, 245. LexisNexis Butterworths Wadhwa Nagpur. ISBN978-81-8038-559-9. Note: although the text talks about Indian state governments in general, it applies to the specific case of Rajasthan as well.
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