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, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).^[1]^[2] As of 3 December 2023, INC is in power in the three states of Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana. In Tamil Nadu and Jharkhand it shares power with alliance partners Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha respectively.^[3] The party during the post-independence era has governed most of the states and union territories of India.^[4]

A chief minister is the head of government of each of the twenty-eight states and of three union territories (Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Puducherry).^{[citation needed]} 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.^{[citation needed]} 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.^{[citation needed]} The chief minister's term is usually for a maximum of five years with the confidence of the assembly. There are no limits to the number of terms the chief minister can serve.^[5] 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.^[6] While not a constitutional office, it seldom carries any specific powers. A deputy chief minister usually also holds a cabinet portfolio such as home minister or finance minister.^[7] 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.^[8]

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.^[9] 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.^[10] Tarun Gogoi held the position of Chief Minister in Assam for a period of 15 years and 6 days.^[11] 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.^[12] Gegong Apang has not only been the longest-serving Chief Minister from the INC but also in the history of Arunachal Pradesh.^[13] Apang also holds the record for the fourth-longest-serving Chief Minister of an Indian state, holding the post for over twenty-two years.^[14]

^ Edward A. Gargan (29 November 1993). "India's Two Major Political Parties Stumble in Regional Elections". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 1 November 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
^ "In Numbers: The Rise of BJP and decline of Congress". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 5 November 2017.
^ "BJP to rule 12 states on its own, Congress down to 3". Deccan Herald. 3 December 2023. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
^ "Rise and fall of the Congress". The Hindu. 3 November 2022. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
^ Durga Das Basu (1960). Introduction to the Constitution of India (20th ed.). LexisNexis Butterworths Wadhwa Nagpur. pp. 241, 245. ISBN 978-81-8038-559-9.
^ Bhatia, Varinder (26 October 2019). "Explained: The role of a Deputy Chief Minister in the functioning of state government". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
^ Dutta, Prabhash K (28 November 2019). "What do deputy chief ministers do?". India Today. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
^ Anshuman, Kumar (15 December 2023). "Increasing instances of Deputy Chief Ministers & their role in balancing equations". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 29 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
^ Bagchi, Rounak (3 May 2021). "Back for third term, Mamata becomes one of the longest-serving woman CMs in India". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 12 March 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
^ Singh, Hemant (10 February 2020). "List of longest serving Chief Ministers in India". Jagran Prakashan Limited. Archived from the original on 26 February 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
^ Chakravarty, Ipsita (24 November 2020). "Tarun Gogoi (1936–2020): The chief minister who changed Assam slowly, slowly". Scroll.in. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
^ Sharma, Manraj Grewal (9 July 2021). "Congress face in Himachal, six-time CM Virbhadra Singh dies at 87". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 12 April 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
^ Banerjee, Ruben (15 April 1995). "To be the chief minister is my habit: Arunachal CM Gegong Apang". India Today. Archived from the original on 29 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
^ Karmakar, Rahul (12 October 2009). "Gegong Apang still a force to reckon with". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 29 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.

[1] Edward A. Gargan (29 November 1993). "India's Two Major Political Parties Stumble in Regional Elections". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 1 November 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2013.

[2] "In Numbers: The Rise of BJP and decline of Congress". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 5 November 2017.

[State_Rules-3] "BJP to rule 12 states on its own, Congress down to 3". Deccan Herald. 3 December 2023. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.

[Ruled-4] "Rise and fall of the Congress". The Hindu. 3 November 2022. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.

[5] Durga Das Basu (1960). Introduction to the Constitution of India (20th ed.). LexisNexis Butterworths Wadhwa Nagpur. pp. 241, 245. ISBN 978-81-8038-559-9.

[Deputy_CM-6] Bhatia, Varinder (26 October 2019). "Explained: The role of a Deputy Chief Minister in the functioning of state government". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.

[Roles_Deputy_CM-7] Dutta, Prabhash K (28 November 2019). "What do deputy chief ministers do?". India Today. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.

[DeputyCM_Role-8] Anshuman, Kumar (15 December 2023). "Increasing instances of Deputy Chief Ministers & their role in balancing equations". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 29 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.

[Delhi_CM-9] Bagchi, Rounak (3 May 2021). "Back for third term, Mamata becomes one of the longest-serving woman CMs in India". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 12 March 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2022.

[Longest_CM-10] Singh, Hemant (10 February 2020). "List of longest serving Chief Ministers in India". Jagran Prakashan Limited. Archived from the original on 26 February 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2022.

[TarunGogoi-11] Chakravarty, Ipsita (24 November 2020). "Tarun Gogoi (1936–2020): The chief minister who changed Assam slowly, slowly". Scroll.in. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.

[HP_CM-12] Sharma, Manraj Grewal (9 July 2021). "Congress face in Himachal, six-time CM Virbhadra Singh dies at 87". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 12 April 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2022.

[Lengthiest_CM-13] Banerjee, Ruben (15 April 1995). "To be the chief minister is my habit: Arunachal CM Gegong Apang". India Today. Archived from the original on 29 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.

[Apang_AP-14] Karmakar, Rahul (12 October 2009). "Gegong Apang still a force to reckon with". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 29 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]