After the death of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed in January 2016, there were a lot of speculations and confusion over the next Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir. There were talks between BJP and PDP regarding this. Finally, Mehbooba Mufti of PDP took oath as the Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir, thereby becoming the First Woman Chief Minister of J&K.
As Mehbooba Mufti becomes the first Lady CM of J&K, we decided to look back into the history to know about all the Women Chief Ministers of India. So, here are the 16 Ladies who assumed the Top Power of a State.
1. Sucheta Kriplani (Uttar Pradesh – 1963 to 1967)
Sucheta was a Freedom fighter & India’s First Woman Chief Minister.
2. Nandini Satpathy (Orissa – 1972 to 1973 & 1974 to 1976)
Orissa’s first Woman Chief Minister.
3. Shashikala Kakodkar (Goa – 1973 to 1979)
Goa’s first Woman Chief Minister.
4. Syeda Anwara Taimur ( Assam – 1980 to 1981)
Assam’s first Woman Chief Minister.
5. Janaki Ramachandran ( Tamil Nadu – 7 Jan 1988 to 30 Jan 1988)
Tamil Nadu’s first Woman Chief Minister.
6. Jayalalithaa (Tamil Nadu – 5 terms )
Tamil Nadu’s second Woman Chief Minister. She held the office for 5 terms and is the incumbent CM of Tamil Nadu.
7. Mayawati ( Uttar Pradesh – 4 terms)
Uttar Pradesh’s second Woman Chief Minister.
8. Rajinder Kaur Bhattal ( Punjab – 1996 to 1997)
Punjab’s first Woman Chief Minister.
9. Rabri Devi ( Bihar – 3 terms)
Bihar’s first Woman Chief Minister.
10. Sushma Swaraj ( Delhi – 13 October 1998 to 3 December 1998)
Delhi’s first Woman Chief Minister.
11. Sheila Dikshit (Delhi – 1998 to 2013)
Delhi’s second Woman Chief Minister.
12. Uma Bharati (Madhya Pradesh – 8 December 2003 to 23 August 2004)
Madhya Pradesh’s first Woman Chief Minister.
13. Vasundhara Raje (Rajasthan – 2003 to 2008 & 2013 to Present)
Rajasthan’s first Woman Chief Minister. She is the incumbent CM of Rajasthan.
14. Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal – 2011 to Present)
West Bengal’s first Woman Chief Minister. Didi is the incumbent CM of Bengal.
15. Anandiben Patel (Gujarat – 2014 to Present)
Gujarat’s first Woman Chief Minister. Patel is also the incumbent CM of Gujarat.
16. Mehbooba Mufti (Jammu & Kashmir – 4 April 2016 to Present)
Jammu & Kashmir’s first Woman Chief Minister.
