Bihar elections: Nitish Kumar set to become India's longest-serving CM?

With the outcome of the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections indicating a sweeping victory for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) featuring the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the JD(U) in its ranks, incumbent Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is likely to take oath for a record 10th time.

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While the 74-year-old became the chief minister for the first time in March 2000 as a member of the Samata Party, his stay in the hot seat lasted only for a week. However, Nitish came back strongly in 2005, when he ended the long reign of his old foe Lalu Prasad Yadav and built his own.

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For the next two decades, he has remained Bihar’s ‘undisputed chief minister’ with a nine-month hiatus in 2014-15 when Jitan Ram Manjhi replaced him as he quit. While Nitish has often been accused of being a ‘Paltu Ram’ (turncoat), shifting loyalties between the BJP and the Opposition camps over the years, his stature in Bihar politics remains unmatched, and it was proved once again on Friday (November 14) when the results of the latest state polls came out.

Though Nitish has often completed his five-year term, he did so by switching allies and renewing loyalties. A full term after this victory would allow the JD(U) patriarch to set a new benchmark for political longevity. The leader already has almost 20 years under his belt as the chief minister, and another five years from now would catapult him to the top of the list with 25 years.

India's longest-serving CMs

Here’s a look at the chief ministers in India who have spent the most time at the helm, topping the record charts.

Pawan Kumar Chamling served as the chief minister of Sikkim for 24 years and 165 days (between 1994 and 2019) and currently holds the record of India’s longest-serving chief minister. The Sikkim Democratic Front leader was known as the country’s “greenest chief minister” for his environment-friendly administration.

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Naveen Patnaik stands second in the list with a tenure of 24 years and 99 days (between 2000 and 2024). The Biju Janata Dal leader remained the undisputed leader of Odisha till his party’s shock defeat in the 2024 state elections that saw his exit, something that was once unthinkable for generations.

The third position belongs to the late Jyoti Basu, West Bengal’s first communist chief minister, who served for 23 years and 137 days (from 1977 and 2000). He, however, did not depart due to an electoral loss but owing to failing health and was succeeded by Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.

Arunachal Pradesh’s former chief minister Gegong Apang holds the record of the fourth-longest tenure. The leader, who has been a member of several parties, served 22 years and 250 days, but in two phases. His first term was between 1980 and 1999, and the final one between 2003 and 2007.

Mizoram’s Lal Thanhawla of the Indian National Congress is the fifth in the list with a non-continuous tenure of 22 years and 60 days. He served in three phases – 1984-86, 1989-98 and 2008-18.

Virbhadra Singh of Himachal Pradesh (21 years and 13 days in four phases between 1983 and 2017) and Manik Sarkar of Tripura (19 years and 363 days between 1998 and 2018) are in the sixth and seventh positions, respectively, with Nitish at No. 8 at this moment.

Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi (18 years and 362 days between 1969 and 2011) and former Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal (18 years and 350 days between 1970 and 2017) complete the top 10.