page_title: List of chief ministers of Punjab, India
section_title: Punjab (1947-1966) (Punjab, Haryana and Himachal)
hierarchical_section_title: List of chief ministers of Punjab, India / History / Punjab (1947-1966) (Punjab, Haryana and Himachal)
caption_attribution_description: English: The Punjab state in India from 1956 to 1966.
context_page_description: The Chief Minister of Punjab, an Indian state, is the head of the Government of Punjab. As per the Constitution of India, the Governor of Punjab is the state's de jure head, but de facto executive authority rests with the chief minister. Following elections to the Punjab Legislative Assembly, the governor usually invites the party with a majority of seats to form the government. The governor appoints the chief minister, whose council of ministers are collectively responsible to the assembly. Given that he has the confidence of the assembly, the chief minister's term is for five years and is subject to no term limits.
context_section_description: Since 1947, Punjab has had fifteen chief ministers. The first was Gopi Chand Bhargava of the Indian National Congress party, who was sworn-in on 15 August 1947, when India gained independence from the British. He was succeeded by fellow Congressman Bhim Sen Sachar, who was then subsequently replaced after 188 days by former Chief Minister Gopi Chand Bhargava. After a brief term, President Rajendra Prasad placed the Punjab Legislative Assembly under suspension for ninth months to help the state government gets its act together. In 1952, the first state elections took place for the Legislative Assembly. The results of the election saw the return of the Congress government with former Chief Minister Bhim Sen Sachar as its leader. After he resigned in 1956, Partap Singh Kairon became chief minister. Serving until 1964, Khairon remain's one of Punjab's longest-serving chief ministers. He was followed by the returning Chief Minister Gopi Chand Bhargava, who briefly held office as acting chief minister for only 15 days. In July 1964, Ram Kishan assumed the office and served for two years. His tenure was followed by the President's rule which lasted for 119 days. During this time, the state of Haryana was separated from Punjab.
caption: Map of East Punjab in red color from 1947-1966
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