Fifteen women have served as the chief minister of an Indian state. Currently, four are in office—Jayalalithaa, Anandiben Patel, Vasundhara Raje and Mamata Banerjee. Of the twelve states to have been headed by a female chief minister, only three—Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh—have had two woman premiers.
In the Republic of India, a chief minister is the head of government of each of twenty-nine states and two union territories (Delhi and Puducherry).
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. 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 governor appoints the chief minister, whose council of ministers are collectively responsible to the assembly. Given he has the confidence of the assembly, the chief minister's term is for five years; the office is subject to no term limits.
In the Republic of India, a chief minister is the head of government of each of twenty-nine states and two union territories (Delhi and Puducherry).
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. 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 governor appoints the chief minister, whose council of ministers are collectively responsible to the assembly. Given he has the confidence of the assembly, the chief minister's term is for five years; the office is subject to no term limits.
Chronological list of female Indian chief ministers
| No | Name | Portrait | State | Term(s) | Total tenure | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sucheta Kriplani | – | Uttar Pradesh | 2 October 1963 – 13 March 1967 | 1258 days | Indian National Congress | |
| 2 | Nandini Satpathy | – | Orissa | 14 June 1972 – 3 March 1973 6 March 1974 – 16 December 1976 | 1278 days | Indian National Congress | |
| 3 | Shashikala Kakodkar | – | Goa | 12 August 1973 – 27 April 1979 | 2084 days | Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party | |
| 4 | Syeda Anwara Taimur | – | Assam | 6 December 1980 – 30 June 1981 | 206 days | Indian National Congress | |
| 5 | Janaki Ramachandran |  | Tamil Nadu | 7–30 January 1988 | 23 days | All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | |
| 6 | Jayalalithaa * |  | Tamil Nadu | 24 June 1991 – 12 May 1996 14 May 2001 – 21 September 2001 2 March 2002 – 12 May 2006 16 May 2011 – 29 September 2014 23 May 2015 – present | 4679 days | All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | |
| 7 | Mayawati | Uttar Pradesh | 13 June 1995 – 18 October 1995 21 March 1997 – 21 September 1997 3 May 2002 – 29 August 2003 13 May 2007 – 7 March 2012 | 2554 days | Bahujan Samaj Party | ||
| 8 | Rajinder Kaur Bhattal | – | Punjab | 21 January 1996 – 12 February 1997 | 388 days | Indian National Congress | |
| 9 | Rabri Devi |  | Bihar | 25 July 1997 – 11 February 1999 9 March 1999 – 2 March 2000 11 March 2000 – 6 March 2005 | 2746 days | Rashtriya Janata Dal | |
| 10 | Sushma Swaraj |  | Delhi | 13 October 1998 – 3 December 1998 | 51 days | Bharatiya Janata Party | |
| 11 | Sheila Dikshit |  | Delhi | 3 December 1998 – 8 December 2013 | 5484 days | Indian National Congress | |
| 12 | Uma Bharati |  | Madhya Pradesh | 8 December 2003 – 23 August 2004 | 259 days | Bharatiya Janata Party | |
| 13 | Vasundhara Raje * |  | Rajasthan | 8 December 2003 – 11 December 2008 8 December 2013 – present | 2491 days | Bharatiya Janata Party | |
| 14 | Mamata Banerjee * |  | West Bengal | 20 May 2011 – present | 1599 days | All India Trinamool Congress | |
| 15 | Anandiben Patel * |  | Gujarat | 21 May 2014 – present | 501 days | Bharatiya Janata Party | |
