Bihar has seen a major shift in government with the Home portfolio going to the BJP for the first time.
In Bihar, as in most states, chief ministers traditionally retain the Home department because it provides direct command over law and order, and the police. Yet, a few states currently diverge from this convention, with the Home department held by a Deputy CM or a Cabinet minister.
In Gujarat, where the BJP has been in power since 1998, CMs have usually kept the Home department. Current Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel also held it until the recent Cabinet reshuffle, when it was allocated to Deputy CM Harsh Sanghavi. Given Gujarat’s international borders, it is considered a sensitive state. Sources said Patel sought to unburden himself, prompting the transfer. A BJP leader noted that this was a rare instance in a BJP government of a CM giving up Home to a Cabinet colleague.
In Congress-ruled Karnataka, the Home department (excluding Intelligence) is with minister G Parameshwara, a former state Congress president and prominent Dalit leader. Sources said the ministry was given to him to match his stature in the party when the government was formed in 2023. Parameshwara held the Home Ministry earlier as well from 2015 to 2017.
In Andhra Pradesh, where the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) governs the state with the BJP and Pawan Kalyan’s JanaSena Party (JSP), CM Chandrababu Naidu has given the Home department to Payakaraopet MLA Anitha Vangalapudi but has kept law and order with himself.
In Chhattisgarh, a tribal state where the Centre remains focused on combating Naxalism, the Home department is with Deputy CM Vijay Sharma rather than CM Vishnu Deo Sai. The BJP returned to power here in 2023.
In Delhi, where the BJP returned to power after 27 years in February this year, Rekha Gupta became CM but the Home department was assigned to minister Ashish Sood, the Janakpuri MLA. Sood also handles the Power, Urban Development, Education, Higher Education, and Training & Technical Education departments.
In Puducherry, minister A Namassivayam holds the Home portfolio.
North East
In several North Eastern states, Home-related functions are split among multiple ministers, as reflected on official government websites.
In Arunachal Pradesh, the Home department is not with CM Pema Khandu but with minister Mama Natung, who oversees Home and Inter-State Border Affairs.
In Assam, where the current government was formed in 2021, the Home department is bifurcated between CM Himanta Biswa Sarma and minister Rupesh Gowala, who handles Prisons, Home Guards, Civil Defence, and other subjects.
In Meghalaya, CM Conrad Sangma holds Home (Political). Home (Police) is with Deputy CM Prestone Tynsong, Home (Civil Defence and Home Guards) with minister Brening A Sangma, and Home (Passport) with minister Wailadmiki Shylla.
In Mizoram, minister Pu K Sapdanga holds the Home department, while in Nagaland, Deputy CM Y Patton manages Home and Border Affairs.