List of chief ministers from the Communist Party of India (Marxist)

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M) or CPM) is a communist political party in India that formed as the result of a split in the Communist Party of India (CPI) in 1964.^[1] It has the status of a "national party" in India and has headed state governments in three of the states in the country.

A chief minister is the head of government of each of the twenty-eight states and three union territories (Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Puducherry). In accordance with the Constitution of India, the governor is a state's de jure head, but de facto executive authority rests with the chief minister. Following elections to the state legislative assembly, the state's governor usually invites the party (or coalition) with a majority of seats to form the government. The governor appoints the chief minister, whose council of ministers are collectively responsible to the assembly. Given the confidence of the assembly, the chief minister's term is for five years and is subject to no term limits.^[2]

As of March 2020^[update], nine people from the CPI(M) have held the position of a chief minister — four in Kerala, three in Tripura, and two in West Bengal, out of which only one — Pinarayi Vijayan is incumbent.

Kerala

* – Incumbent chief minister

Name	Term(s)	Tenure(s)^[a]
E. M. S. Namboodiripad	2^[b]	6 March 1967-1 November 1969 (2 years, 240 days)
E. K. Nayanar	3	25 January 1980–20 October 1981 (1 year, 268 days ) 26 March 1987 – 17 June 1991 (4 years, 83 days) 20 May 1996 – 13 May 2001 (4 years, 358 days)
V. S. Achuthanandan	1	18 May 2006 – 14 May 2011 (4 years, 361 days)
Pinarayi Vijayan*	2	25 May 2016 – Incumbent (8 years, 42 days)

Tripura

Name	Term(s)	Tenure(s)
Nripen Chakraborty	2	5 January 1978 – 5 February 1988 (10 years, 31 days)
Dasarath Deb	1	10 April 1993 – 11 March 1998 (4 years, 335 days)
Manik Sarkar	4	11 March 1998 – 9 March 2018 (19 years, 363 days)