Article 164 of the Indian Constitution deals with the appointment of the Chief Minister and other Ministers by the Governor. The Governor is the state's de jure head, but de facto executive authority rests with the Chief Minister. In simple words, the Chief Minister of an Indian state is the head of the Government.
In 1947, after India's Independence from the British Raj, the states' monarchs of Travancore and Cochin instituted a representative government, headed by a Prime Minister and his Council of Ministers. On 1 July 1949, Travancore and Cochin were merged to form Travancore-Cochin state. The Malabar District and Kasaragod region of South Canara, together constituting more than half of the present state of Kerala, had their representatives in the Madras Legislative Assembly.
On 1 November 1956, with the implementation of the States Reorganisation Act, present-day Kerala was created by merging Cochin, Malabar, and Travancore regions, and the Kasaragod region of South Canara. Since then, the state has been ruled by twelve Chief Ministers.
Prime Ministers of Travancore (1948-1949)
| S.No. | Prime Minister | Tenure | Party |
| 1. | Pattom A. Thanu Pillai | 24 March 1948 |
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17 October 1948
22 October 1948
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1 July 1949
Prime Ministers of Cochin (1947-1949)
| S.No. | Prime Minister | Tenure | Party |
| 1. | Panampilly Govinda Menon | 14 August 1947 |
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22 October 1947
27 October 1947
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20 September 1948
20 September 1948
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30 June 1949
Chief Ministers of Madras (1947-1956)
| S.No. | Chief Minister | Tenure | Party |
| 1. | O. P. Ramaswamy Reddiyar | 23 March 1947 - 6 April 1949 | Indian National Congress |
| 2. | P. S. Kumaraswamy Raja | 6 April 1949 - 9 April 1952 | |
| 3. | C. Rajagopalachari | 10 April 1952 - 13 April 1954 | |
| 4. | K. Kamaraj | 13 April 1954 - 31 October 1956 |
Chief Ministers of Travancore-Cochin (1949-1956)
| S.No. | Chief Minister | Tenure | Party |
| 1. | Paravoor T. K. Narayana Pillai | 1 July 1949 - 1 March 1951 | Indian National Congress |
| 2. | C. Kesavan | 3 March 1951 - 12 March 1952 | |
| 3. | Anaparambil Joseph John | 12 March 1952 - 16 March 1954 | |
| 4. | Pattom Thanu Pillai | 16 March 1954 - 10 February 1955 | Praja Socialist Party |
| 5. | Panampilly Govinda Menon | 10 February 1955 - 23 March 1956 | Indian National Congress |
| President's Rule | 23 March 1956 - 31 October 1956 |
Chief Ministers of Kerala (1957-2023)
| S.No. | Prime Minister | Tenure | Party (Coalition) |
| President's Rule | 1 November 1956 - 5 April 1957 | ||
| 1. | E. M. S. Namboodiripad | 5 April 1957 - 31 July 1959 | Communist Party of India |
| President's Rule | 31 July 1959 - 22 February 1960 | ||
| 2. | Pattom A. Thanu Pillai | 22 February 1960 - 26 September 1962 | Praja Socialist Party |
| 3. | R. Sankar | 26 September 1962 - 10 September 1964 | Indian National Congress |
| President's Rule | 10 September 1964 - 6 March 1967 | ||
| (1) | E. M. S. Namboodiripad | 6 March 1967 - 1 November 1969 | Communist Party of India (Marxist) |
| 4. | C. Achutha Menon | 1 November 1969 - 3 August 1970 | Communist Party of India |
| President's Rule | 4 August 1970 - 3 October 1970 | ||
| (4) | C. Achutha Menon | 4 October 1970 - 25 March 1977 | Communist Party of India (United Front) |
| 5. | K. Karunakaran | 25 March 1977 - 26 April 1977 | Indian National Congress (United Front) |
| 6. | A. K. Antony | 27 April 1977 - 28 October 1978 | |
| 7. | P. K. Vasudevan Nair | 29 October 1978 - 11 October 1979 | Communist Party of India (United Front) |
| 8. | C. H. Mohammed Koya | 12 October 1979 - 4 December 1979 | Indian Union Muslim League (United Front) |
| President's Rule | 5 December 1979 - 25 January 1980 | ||
| 9. | E. K. Nayanar | 25 January 1980 - 20 October 1981 | Communist Party of India (Marxist) (Left Democratic Front) |
| President's Rule | 21 October 1981 - 28 December 1981 | ||
| (5) | K. Karunakaran | 28 December 1981 - 17 March 1982 | Indian National Congress (I) (United Democratic Front) |
| President's Rule | 17 March 1982 - 23 May 1982 | ||
| (5) | K. Karunakaran | 24 May 1982 - 25 March 1987 | Indian National Congress (United Democratic Front) |
| (9) | E. K. Nayanar | 26 March 1987 - 23 June 1991 | Communist Party of India (Marxist) (Left Democratic Front) |
| (5) | K. Karunakaran | 24 June 1991 - 21 March 1995 | Indian National Congress (United Democratic Front) |
| (6) | A. K. Antony | 22 March 1995 - 19 May 1996 | |
| (9) | E. K. Nayanar | 20 May 1996 - 16 May 2001 | Communist Party of India (Marxist) (Left Democratic Front) |
| (6) | A. K. Antony | 17 May 2001 - 30 August 2004 | Indian National Congress (United Democratic Fron |
| 10. | Oommen Chandy | 31 August 2004 - 17 May 2006 | |
| 11. | V. S. Achuthanandan | 18 May 2006 - 17 May 2011 | Communist Party of India (Marxist) (Left Democratic Front) |
| (10) | Oommen Chandy | 18 May 2011 - 24 May 2016 | Indian National Congress (United Democratic Front) |
| 12. | Pinarayi Vijayan | 25 May 2016 - Incumbent | Communist Party of India (Marxist) (Left Democratic Front) |
Key Highlights:
1- E.K. Nayanar is the longest-serving Chief Minister of Kerala with almost 11 years in office.
2- C. H. Mohammed Koya is the shortest-serving Chief Minister of Kerala with only 53 days in office.
3- Oommen Chandy, who served a total of 6 years and 253 days as the 10th Chief Minister of Kerala passed away on 18 July, 2023. Apart from being the CM of Kerala twice, Chandy's illustrious career included holding key ministerial portfolios such as Labour, Home, and Finance in different governments under the leadership of K Karunakaran and AK Antony. Additionally, he took on the significant role of Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly. Remarkably, representing the Puthuppally constituency, he served as the MLA for over fifty years, establishing an unparalleled record for the longest tenure in the state's political history. According to sources, he was diagnosed with cancer and passed away during a treatment. Oommen Chandy was 79 years old.
This was the complete list of all the Chief Ministers of Kerala. The students who will be appearing for the government, as well as competitive examinations, are advised to go through the list thoroughly.
List of all Chief Ministers of Assam (1937-2021)