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

[2] Half of them, including the inaugural officeholder Babulal Marandi and Arjun Munda, represented the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Shibu Soren's first term ended in just ten days, as he could not prove that he had the support of a majority of the house and was forced to resign.

Raghubar Das, of the BJP, was the first non-tribal and first chief minister to complete a full term in the state.

Hemant Soren of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha is the incumbent chief minister.