In accordance with the Constitution of India, the governor is a state's de jure head, but de facto executive authority rests with the chief minister.

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] Ten people have served as the state's chief minister since its formation on 9 November 2000.

Seven of them, including the inaugural officeholder Nityanand Swami and the incumbent Pushkar Singh Dhami represented the (BJP) while the rest represented the Indian National Congress.

(election) (2002) (2007) (2012) (President's rule) (President's rule) (2017) (2022) Fraction of time of holding CMO by party (as of December 2024)