India's Longest Serving Chief Ministers

Sikkim CM Pawan Chamling became longest serving Chief Minister of India 

Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Chamling on 12 December 2014 became longest serving Chief Minister of India. He completed his 20 years in the office on 12 December 2014. He has been chief minister of Sikkim since 12 December 1994.

Earlier, the longest serving CM was late Communist leader Jyoti Basu who was chief minister of West Bengal.Communist leader Jyoti Basu has the record for being the longest serving chief minister. Basu was the chief minister of West Bengal for more than 23 years from June 21, 1977, to Nov 5, 2000.

CPM leader Jyoti Basu, who died in January 2010, served as the Chief Minister of West Bengal from 1977 to 2000, making him the longest-serving chief minister of any state of India.

Pawan Chamling will create an Indian political history record of being 25 years in the office should he complete his present term, his fifth. He has led his Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) party to a record mandate for the fifth time in a row in the assembly elections held in May 2014.

The ruling SDF has won 22 out of a total 32 seats on the plank of promoting peace, security and development. The party got majority 55 per cent vote share in multi corned contest in the state.

Pawan Chamling  was elected as the president of Yangang Gram Panchayat in 1982. In 1985, he was elected to the Sikkim Legislative Assembly for the first time. After being elected for the second time from Damthang constituency, he became the Minister for Industries, Information and Public Relations from 1989 to 1992 in the Nar Bahadur Bhandari cabinet.

After a series of major political upheavals in Sikkim, Chamling formed the Sikkim Democratic Front in 1993. The Sikkim Democratic Front won the 1994, 1999, 2004 and 2009 State Assembly elections.
Chamling has launched various flagship programme like Rural Housing Mission to make Sikkim the first Kutcha House-Free State in the country by 2013. So far, 6000 Pakka houses for poor Sikkimese families have been constructed. The objective of the mission is to provide permanent and a safe roof over every family in Sikkim

Tarun Gogoi (May 15, 2001 to present) - CM of Assam for 3 Terms in 2001,2006 and 2011
Congress leader Tarun Gogoi has served as the Chief Minister of Assam since 2001, and has led the party to a record three consecutive electoral victories in the state.

Sheila Dikshit -CM of Delhi in 1998,2003 and 2008 for 3 Terms
Senior Congress leader Sheila Dikshit became the longest serving woman chief minister in the country when she wrested power for the third time in the Delhi assembly elections in December 2008

Okram Ibobi Singh -CM of Manipur for 3 Terms from 2002,2004 and 2012
Congress leader Okram Ibobi Singh has served as the Chief Minister of Manipur since 2002. In 2012, he helped his party win the state election for the third time with an absolute majority securing 42 out of the total 60 assembly seats, brushing aside anti-incumbency factor once again.

Naveen Patnaik - CM of Odisha for 4 Terms in 2000,2004,2009 and 2014
Naveen, a writer, entered politics after the death of his father Biju Patnaik in 1997 and a year later founded the Biju Janata Dal (BJD). He was elected MP from Aska constituency in Orissa, but later resigned when BJD-led alliance won the Orissa assembly polls in 2000. Naveen became the CM of Orissa and since then has retained the government for three consecutive terms.

Manik Sarkar - CM of Tripura  for 4 Terms in 1998,2003,2008 and 2013
CMP leader Manik Sarkar is the longest-serving Chief Minister of Tripura. The veteran Marxist leader joined politics in 1967 by participating in the food movement which was organised by the then Opposition CPM in the state. He became a party member the next year

Narendra Modi -CM of Gujarat for 3 Terms in 2002,2007 and 2012
Senior BJP leader Narendra Modi on October 7,2012 completed 11 years at the helm of affairs in Gujarat, becoming the longest serving chief minister of the state