Following elections to the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly, the state's governor usually invites the party (or coalition) with a majority of seats to form the government.

The first non-Congress chief minister was Govind Narayan Singh who defected from the party and lead a Samyukta Vidhayak Dal government from 1967 to 1969.

Shivraj Singh Chouhan of the Bharatiya Janata Party was the longest-serving chief minister of the state, serving for over 16 and half years.

In 1948, the eastern regions of Central India Agency, became the Union of Baghelkhand and Bundelkhand States, and were later renamed to Vindhya Pradesh, in 1952.

(1952 elections) In 1948, the western regions of Central India Agency and the Gwalior and Indore residencies, became the new state of Madhya Bharat.