Chief Ministers of Rajasthan: Complete List, Tenure and Party

Bhajan Lal Sharma of the Bharatiya Janata Party is the current Chief Minister of Rajasthan. He took oath on 15 December 2023, after the BJP won 115 of the 200 assembly seats in that year’s election. A first-time MLA from Sanganer in Jaipur, he was an unexpected choice over better-known names, and he succeeded Ashok Gehlot of the Congress.

Fourteen people have served as Chief Minister of Rajasthan since 26 January 1950, when the state took its present name. Those fourteen individuals account for twenty-four separate spells in office, because six of them returned to the post at least once — Ashok Gehlot and Bhairon Singh Shekhawat three times each, Hari Dev Joshi three times, Mohan Lal Sukhadia, Jai Narayan Vyas, Shiv Charan Mathur and Vasundhara Raje twice each. Rajasthan has also been under President’s Rule four times, and every one of those breaks appears as its own row below.

How the Office Works in Rajasthan

Article 164 of the Constitution puts the appointment in the Governor’s hands: the Governor appoints the Chief Minister, and appoints the rest of the ministers on the Chief Minister’s advice. The Governor is the state’s formal head, but executive authority in practice rests with the Chief Minister.

The council of ministers is collectively responsible to the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly, a 200-member house elected for five years. That responsibility is the only real check on tenure — a Chief Minister holds office as long as the assembly’s majority is with them, and not a day longer. Nothing in the Constitution limits how many terms one person may serve, which is why the same handful of names recurs through the Rajasthan list.

The Chief Minister must be a member of the legislature, or become one within six months. When no ministry can hold a majority, Article 356 lets the President assume the state’s administration on the Governor’s report. The Chief Minister’s office then stands vacant until a new ministry is sworn in.

Complete List of Chief Ministers of Rajasthan

Rajasthan came together in seven stages between March 1948 and November 1956, as the princely states of Rajputana merged and Ajmer-Merwara was folded in. The Matsya Union came first in March 1948, then the Rajasthan Union, then the United State of Greater Rajasthan in March 1949. Heera Lal Shastri was Prime Minister of that entity from 7 April 1949, and became Chief Minister when the state was renamed Rajasthan on 26 January 1950. The list below therefore starts on that date. Repeat holders are shown with their original number in brackets.

The table tells two very different stories on either side of 1990. Before it, Congress held the office almost without interruption, and instability came from within the party — Rajasthan burned through six Congress Chief Ministers between 1980 and 1990, three of them in a single stretch of five years. After it, the state settled into a rhythm that has not broken since: the government changes at every election.

That is the second story, and it is the one Rajasthan is famous for. Since the 1993 election, no party has been re-elected. BJP 1993, Congress 1998, BJP 2003, Congress 2008, BJP 2013, Congress 2018, BJP 2023 — seven elections, seven changes of government. Only three individuals have been Chief Minister across that whole period until 2023: Shekhawat, Gehlot and Raje.

Longest-Serving and Most Notable Chief Ministers

Mohan Lal Sukhadia is the longest-serving Chief Minister of Rajasthan by a distance, with about 16 years and 6 months in office. His single unbroken run from November 1954 to March 1967 lasted 12 years and 120 days and remains the longest continuous stretch anyone has managed in the state. He was 38 when he first took charge, and he is remembered for the Rajasthan Canal project, the first phase of panchayati raj in the state, and the industrial and irrigation build-out of the 1950s and 1960s.

Ashok Gehlot is second with roughly 15 years across three spells (1998-2003, 2008-13, 2018-23), a record built entirely inside the alternation era — he won three elections and lost three. His tenures are associated with the Right to Information groundwork, the state’s health insurance and free-medicine schemes, and the Old Pension Scheme restoration announced in 2022.

Bhairon Singh Shekhawat served about 10 years and 5 months across three spells and matters more for what he changed than for how long he lasted. He was the first non-Congress Chief Minister of Rajasthan, in June 1977, and he built the Jan Sangh-Janata-BJP tradition in the state into a real alternative. He went on to become Vice-President of India in 2002.

Vasundhara Raje, in office 2003-08 and 2013-18, is the only woman to have led Rajasthan and matches Shekhawat almost exactly on total tenure — about 10 years and a week. Heera Lal Shastri was the first Chief Minister, and Barkatullah Khan, who died in office in October 1973, is the only Muslim to have held the post.

How Power Has Shifted: Party Trends in Rajasthan

Congress governed Rajasthan without a serious rival for its first twenty-seven years. The Janata wave of 1977 produced the first non-Congress government under Shekhawat, and the Jan Sangh’s successor party stayed in the field afterwards rather than fading, which is what makes Rajasthan a genuine two-party state today.

The BJP first governed on its own in March 1990, and the state has been a straight Congress-versus-BJP contest ever since. Regional and third-force parties have won seats — the Bahujan Samaj Party, the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party, the Bharat Adivasi Party and various independents have all mattered in close assemblies — but no one outside the two big parties has ever produced a Chief Minister.

Bhairon Singh Shekhawat counts in two rows because his 1977 ministry was a Janata Party government and his later two were BJP ones. Counting individuals rather than ministries, eleven of Rajasthan’s fourteen Chief Ministers have been Congress leaders and three have come from the Janata Party-BJP tradition.

Records and Quick Facts

• First Chief Minister: Heera Lal Shastri, from 26 January 1950.
• Current Chief Minister: Bhajan Lal Sharma, since 15 December 2023.
• Longest total tenure: Mohan Lal Sukhadia, about 16 years 6 months.
• Longest single stretch: Mohan Lal Sukhadia, 12 years 120 days (1954-1967).
• Shortest tenure: Hira Lal Devpura, 15 days in 1985.
• Most spells: Ashok Gehlot, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and Hari Dev Joshi, three each. Sukhadia was sworn in four times but across two continuous spells.
• Only woman Chief Minister: Vasundhara Raje (2003-08, 2013-18).
• First non-Congress Chief Minister: Bhairon Singh Shekhawat (1977).
• First Dalit Chief Minister: Jagannath Pahadia (1980-81).
• President’s Rule spells: four — 1967, 1977, 1980 and 1992-93, together about 1 year 7 months.
• Died in office: Barkatullah Khan, on 11 October 1973.
• Assembly strength: 200 seats.

A note on two dates where sources disagree. Bhairon Singh Shekhawat’s third tenure is shown ending on 1 December 1998 in the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly’s records and on 29 November 1998 in some newspaper compilations — the gap reflects his resignation date versus the day his successor took oath. Similarly, C. S. Venkatachar’s inclusion is occasionally disputed because he was a serving Indian Civil Service officer rather than an elected politician; the assembly’s own list of former Chief Ministers includes him, which is what this page follows.

FAQ

Who is the current Chief Minister of Rajasthan? Bhajan Lal Sharma of the Bharatiya Janata Party, in office since 15 December 2023. He is a first-term MLA from the Sanganer constituency in Jaipur and the state’s 14th Chief Minister.

Who was the first Chief Minister of Rajasthan? Heera Lal Shastri of the Indian National Congress, sworn in on 26 January 1950. He had already been Prime Minister of the United State of Greater Rajasthan from 7 April 1949, before the state was renamed Rajasthan.

Who has served longest as Chief Minister of Rajasthan? Mohan Lal Sukhadia, with about 16 years and 6 months in office between 1954 and 1971. His unbroken stretch of 12 years and 120 days from 1954 to 1967 is the longest continuous tenure in the state’s history.

How many Chief Ministers has Rajasthan had? Fourteen individuals since 1950, filling twenty-four separate spells in office. Six people returned to the chair at least once, which is why the two counts differ so widely.

How is the Chief Minister of Rajasthan appointed? The Governor appoints whoever can command a majority in the 200-member Legislative Assembly, under Article 164. The council of ministers is collectively responsible to the assembly, and the Chief Minister must be a member of the legislature within six months of taking office.

Practice Questions

Practice MCQs

1. Who is the current Chief Minister of Rajasthan? (a) Ashok Gehlot (b) Vasundhara Raje (c) Bhajan Lal Sharma (d) Diya Kumari — Answer: (c) Bhajan Lal Sharma took oath on 15 December 2023 after the BJP won 115 seats in the 2023 election.
2. Who was the longest-serving Chief Minister of Rajasthan? (a) Ashok Gehlot (b) Mohan Lal Sukhadia (c) Bhairon Singh Shekhawat (d) Hari Dev Joshi — Answer: (b) Sukhadia served about 16 years and 6 months, including an unbroken run of over 12 years.
3. Who was the first non-Congress Chief Minister of Rajasthan? (a) Bhairon Singh Shekhawat (b) Jagannath Pahadia (c) Hira Lal Devpura (d) Tika Ram Paliwal — Answer: (a) Shekhawat took office in June 1977 at the head of a Janata Party government.
4. Rajasthan has been placed under President’s Rule how many times? (a) Two (b) Three (c) Four (d) Six — Answer: (c) The spells came in 1967, 1977, 1980 and 1992-93.
5. Who is the only woman to have served as Chief Minister of Rajasthan? (a) Uma Bharti (b) Vasundhara Raje (c) Rajinder Kaur Bhattal (d) Sushma Swaraj — Answer: (b) Vasundhara Raje led the state from 2003 to 2008 and again from 2013 to 2018.

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