PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti becomes the first woman chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday, April 4, 2016. (Press Trust of India photo)
With Peoples Democratic Party leader Mehbooba Mufti taking over as chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday, the number of women Chief Minister's in the country has gone up to five.
The other chief ministers are J Jayalalithaa (Tamil Nadu), Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal), Vasundhra Raje (Rajasthan) and Anandiben Patel (Gujarat).
Tamil Nadu and West Bengal are facing assembly polls and Jayalalithaa and Banerjee are leading the poll effort of their parties in their respective states.
Ms Raje and Ms Patel belong to the Bharatiya Janata Party. Together, the five women chief ministers constitute less than a sixth of all chief ministers in the country.
The representation of women has been poor in assembly elections. Only 87 of 1,064 candidates in Monday's first phase of polling in Assam for 65 seats are women.
In the first part of the first phase of West Bengal assembly election on Monday for 18 seats, there are only 11 women among 133 candidates in the fray.