List of chief ministers from the Indian National Congress

The Indian National Congress (INC) is one of the two major parties in the political system of the Republic of India. As of 10 March 2026, INC is in power in the three states: Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana. In Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir, it shares power with alliance partners Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and Jammu & Kashmir National Conference respectively. In the post-independence era, the party has governed most of India's states and union territories, and by extension, has the status of a "national party" in India. According to the Constitution of India, at the state level, the governor is de jure head, but de facto executive authority rests with the chief minister. Therefore, the chief minister is considered the head of government in his jurisdiction. Following elections to the state legislative assembly, the governor usually invites the party or coalition with a majority of seats to form the government. The chief minister is appointed by the governor, who also appoints other ministers, known as the council of ministers, based on the chief minister's advice. The council of ministers is collectively responsible to the state legislative assembly, ensuring unified support for all governmental decisions. The Chief Minister's term is normally limited to five years if they have the assembly's confidence. There are no limits to the number of terms the chief minister can serve. The deputy chief minister is a member of the state government and usually the second highest ranking executive officer of their state's council of ministers. Because the deputy chief minister is not a constitutional office, the Chief Minister has significant influence over the scope of authority and duties the deputy chief minister can perform. A deputy chief minister usually holds a cabinet portfolio such as home minister or finance minister. In the parliamentary system of government, the chief minister is treated as the "first among equals" in the cabinet; the position of deputy chief minister is used to bring political stability and strength within a coalition government. Five of the INC chief ministers have been women – Sucheta Kripalani for Uttar Pradesh, Nandini Satpathy for Odisha, Anwara Taimur for Assam, Rajinder Kaur Bhattal for Punjab, and Sheila Dikshit for Delhi. The longest-serving female chief minister was Sheila Dikshit, who served as the chief minister of Delhi for over fifteen years. Okram Ibobi Singh, who was chief minister of Manipur for 15 years and 11 days between March 2002 and March 2017, has been the longest-serving chief minister of the state. Tarun Gogoi held the position of chief minister in Assam for a period of 15 years and 6 days. A leader of the Indian National Congress, Virbhadra Singh holds the distinction of being the longest serving chief minister of Himachal Pradesh, holding the office from 1983 to 1990, from 1993 to 1998, from 2003 to 2007 and finally from 2012 to 2017. Gegong Apang has not only been the longest-serving chief minister from the INC but also in the history of Arunachal Pradesh. Apang also holds the record for the fourth-longest-serving chief minister of an Indian state, holding the post for over twenty-two years.