Chief Ministers and Political History

• Dr. Y. S. Parmar — first Chief Minister, 8 March 1952; again 1963–1977. The architect of Himachal Pradesh.
• Thakur Ram Lal — Congress, 1977 and 1980–83.
• Shanta Kumar — Janata Party/BJP, 1977–80 and 1990–92. Associated with the 'no work, no pay' rule and with the Kangra-based BJP.
• Virbhadra Singh — Congress; six terms, the longest-serving Chief Minister of the state; of the Bushahr royal house.
• Prem Kumar Dhumal — BJP, 1998–2003 and 2007–12.
• Jai Ram Thakur — BJP, 2017–2022.
• Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu — Congress, from December 2022.

The state has alternated between Congress and BJP at every election since 1985 — a pattern examiners like to ask about, along with the north–south (Kangra vs Shimla) and caste balance in cabinet formation.