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

[1] On 26 January 1950 Govind Ballabh Pant, premier of United Provinces, became the first chief minister of the newly renamed Uttar Pradesh.

On ten occasions, most recently in 2002, the state has come under President's rule, leaving the office of chief minister vacant.

Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party served as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh from 2012 to 2017; having taken the oath at 38 years of age, he is the youngest person to have held the office.

The following is the oath of the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh: I, , do swear in the name of God/solemnly affirm that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established, that I will uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India, that I will faithfully and conscientiously discharge my duties as a Minister for the State of Uttar Pradesh and that I will do right to all manner of people in accordance with the Constitution and the law without fear or favour, affection or ill-will.The United Provinces, headquartered in Allahabad was a province of British India that comprised present day Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.