List of female chief ministers in India

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. Since 1963, India has had 18 female chief ministers. The first woman to become chief minister was Sucheta Kripalani of the Indian National Congress, who was sworn in on 2 October 1963 as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. The longest-serving female chief minister was Sheila Dikshit of 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. Mamata Banerjee of the All India Trinamool Congress served as chief minister of West Bengal and holds the second-longest tenure among female chief ministers. J. Jayalalithaa, from the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, served as chief minister of Tamil Nadu and has the third-longest tenure; she remained in office until her death in 2016, becoming the first female chief minister to die while in office. In contrast, V. N. Janaki Ramachandran, also from Tamil Nadu and the same party, had the shortest tenure, serving only 23 days. Only 12 states and 1 union territory in India have had female chief ministers out of 28 states and 3 union territories that have legislative systems. Rekha Gupta of National Capital Territory of Delhi is the only incumbent female chief minister in India.