List of female chief ministers in India

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 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 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).

Mamata Banerjee of West Bengal and Rekha Gupta of National Capital Territory of Delhi are the incumbent female chief ministers in India.