List of female chief ministers in India explained

The chief minister is the chief executive of the Indian state. In accordance with the Constitution of India, the governor is a state's de jure head, but de facto executive authority rests with the chief minister. Following elections to the legislative assembly, the state's governor usually invites the party (or coalition) 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 she has the confidence of the assembly, the chief minister's term is for five years and is subject to no term limits.[1]

Since 1963, India has had 16 female chief ministers. The first woman to become chief minister was Sucheta Kripalani of the Indian National Congress party, who was sworn in on 2 October 1963 as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. The longest-serving female chief minister was Sheila Dikshit from the Indian National Congress, who served as the chief minister of the National Capital Territory of Delhi and held the office for over fifteen years. J. Jayalalithaa, former general secretary of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, served as chief minister of Tamil Nadu and has the second-longest tenure; she held the office until her death in 2016, becoming the first female chief minister to die in office, while V. N. Janaki Ramachandran of the same state and party has the shortest tenure (only 23 days). Only 12 states and 1 union territory in India had female chief ministers out of 28 states and 3 union territories that have legislature systems. Mamata Banerjee of West Bengal is the only female incumbent chief minister in India.

Chronological list

Key
(2) (1) (1) (4) (5) (1) (1) (1)
No.PortraitName Term of officeState/Union territoryPolitical party
Assumed officeLeft officeTime in office
1Sucheta Kripalani
(1908–1974)
2 October 196313 March 19673 years, 162 daysUttar PradeshIndian National Congressrowspan=2
2Nandini Satpathy
(1931–2006)
14 June 197216 December 19764 years, 185 daysOdisha
3Shashikala Kakodkar
(1935–2016)
12 August 197327 April 19795 years, 258 daysGoaMaharashtrawadi Gomantak Party
4Anwara Taimur
(1936–2020)
6 December 198030 June 1981206 daysAssamIndian National Congress
5V. N. Janaki
(1923–1996)
7 January 198830 January 198823 daysTamil NaduAll India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagamrowspan=6
6J. Jayalalithaa
(1948–2016)
24 June 199112 May 199614 years, 124 days
14 May 200121 September 2001
2 March 200212 May 2006
16 May 201127 September 2014
23 May 20155 December 2016
7Mayawati
(1956–)
13 June 199518 October 19957 years, 5 daysUttar PradeshBahujan Samaj Partyrowspan=4
21 March 199721 September 1997
3 May 200229 August 2003
13 May 200715 March 2012
8Rajinder Kaur Bhattal
(1945–)
21 November 199612 February 199783 daysPunjabIndian National Congress
9Rabri Devi
(1955–)
25 July 199711 February 19997 years, 190 daysBiharRashtriya Janata Dalrowspan=3
9 March 19992 March 2000
11 March 20006 March 2005
10Sushma Swaraj
(1952–2019)
12 October 19983 December 199852 daysNational Capital Territory of DelhiBharatiya Janata Party
11Sheila Dikshit
(1938–2019)
3 December 199828 December 201315 years, 25 daysIndian National Congress
12Uma Bharti
(1959–)
8 December 200323 August 2004259 daysMadhya PradeshBharatiya Janata Partyrowspan=3
13Vasundhara Raje
(1953–)
8 December 200313 December 200810 years, 9 daysRajasthan
13 December 201317 December 2018
14Mamata Banerjee

  • (1955–)
20 May 2011IncumbentWest BengalAll India Trinamool Congress
15Anandiben Patel
(1941–)
22 May 20147 August 20162 years, 77 daysGujaratBharatiya Janata Party
16Mehbooba Mufti
(1959–)
4 April 201619 June 20182 years, 76 daysJammu and KashmirJammu and Kashmir People’s Democratic Party

Statistics

List of female chief ministers by length of term

No.NamePartyLength of term
Longest continuous termTotal years of chief ministership
1Sheila DikshitINC15 years, 25 days15 years, 25 days
2J. JayalalithaaAIADMK4 years, 323 days14 years, 124 days
3Mamata BanerjeeAITC
4Vasundhara RajeBJP5 years, 5 days10 years, 9 days
5Rabri DeviRJD4 years, 360 days7 years, 190 days
6MayawatiBSP4 years, 307 days7 years, 5 days
7Shashikala KakodkarMGP5 years, 258 days5 years, 258 days
8Nandini SatpathyINC4 years, 185 days4 years, 185 days
9Sucheta KripalaniINC3 years, 162 days3 years, 162 days
10Anandiben PatelBJP2 years, 77 days2 years, 77 days
11Mehbooba MuftiJKPDP2 years, 76 days2 years, 76 days
12Uma BhartiBJP259 days259 days
13Anwara TaimurINC206 days206 days
14Rajinder Kaur BhattalINC83 days83 days
15Sushma SwarajBJP52 days52 days
16V. N. JanakiAIADMK23 days23 days

See also

Notes and References

  1. [Durga Das Basu]