What can be the minimum strength of council of Ministers including Chief Minister in the States?

The correct answer is B) 12. Article 164(1A), inserted by the 91st Constitutional Amendment (2003), caps the state council of ministers, including the Chief Minister, at 15 per cent of the total strength of the Legislative Assembly. A proviso to the same clause says the number shall not be less than 12. So a state needs at least 12 ministers, including the CM, however small its assembly.

Why the others fail:

• A) 10: below the statutory floor of 12 in the proviso to Article 164(1A).
• C) 13: a permissible size for a large assembly, but not the minimum.
• D) 14: same logic. It is a valid size for bigger states but cannot be the floor.

Core concept: the 15 per cent ceiling and the floor of 12 together fix the range. For Mains, this links to the anti-defection and patronage debate behind the 91st Amendment, a recurring GS-II theme on governance and political reform.

Note: Article 75(1A) applies the same 15 per cent cap to the Union Council of Ministers but has no floor of 12. Delhi, under Article 239AA, has a ceiling of 10 per cent of the Assembly.

Trap: aspirants remember the 15 per cent cap, then pick the smallest option, or mix up the Union and state rules.