Chief minister (India)

In India, a chief minister is the elected head of government of each state out of the 28 states and sometimes a union territory (UT). Currently, only the UTs of Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Puducherry have serving chief ministers. According to the Constitution of India, the governor is a state's head, but de facto executive authority rests with the chief minister.

Following elections to the State legislative assembly or Vidhan Sabha in a state, the state's governor usually invites the party (or coalition) with a majority of seats to form the government. The governor appoints and swears in the chief minister, whose council of ministers are collectively responsible to the assembly. Based on the Westminster system, given that they retain the confidence of the assembly, the chief minister's term can last for the length of the assembly's life, a maximum of five years. There are no limits to the number of terms that the chief minister can serve. A chief minister heads a state government's council of ministers and can be deputised in that role by a deputy chief minister. The chief minister generally selects the chief secretary and can also allot departments to the cabinet ministers of their state and ministers of state. They also direct the chief secretary to transfer, suspend, or promote officers of their state.

The chief minister usually serves as the leader of the house in the respective legislative assembly.

Of the 31 incumbents, Seventeen incumbents belong to the Bharatiya Janata Party and four to the Indian National Congress, with no other party having more than one chief minister in office. Neiphiu Rio from Nagaland, has had the longest tenure (19 years, 200 days) as a chief minister. Pema Khandu of Arunachal Pradesh, serving since 16 July 2016 (for 10 years, 59 days), has the longest continuous incumbency. Mizoram's Lalduhoma (aged 77) is the oldest and Pema Khandu (aged 47), from Arunachal Pradesh is the youngest. Delhi's Rekha Gupta is the only incumbent female chief minister. As of 13 September 2026, 20 states and 2 union territories are run by the National Democratic Alliance, 6 states and 1 union territory by INDIA, 2 states have no alliance, and 5 union territories have no legislature.