# List of female leaders of the opposition in India

The Leader of the Opposition is the politician who leads the official opposition in the State legislative assemblies of India and State legislative councils of India. Official Opposition is a term used in legislative Assemblies to designate the political party which has secured the second largest number of seat assembly. In order to get formal recognition, the party must have at least 10% of the total membership of the Legislative Assembly. A single party has to meet the 10% seat criterion, not an alliance. Many of the Indian state legislatures also follow this 10% rule, while the rest of them prefer the single largest opposition party according to the rules of their respective houses.
As of 12 March 2025, 13 women have served as leaders of the opposition in 9 out of 28 state assemblies and 1 out of 3 Union Territory assemblies, while only two women have served in two of the seven legislative councils. The first female leader of the opposition was Arutla Kamala Devi of Andhra Pradesh when she became leader of the opposition in the legislative assembly in February 1964. C. Motamma is the first female leader of the opposition in the state legislative council. Jamuna Devi was the longest-serving leader of the opposition, followed by Rajinder Kaur Bhattal. Maharashtra and Punjab are the only two states that had three and two female leaders of the opposition, respectively. Rabri Devi is the only female leader who served as the leader of the opposition in both the legislative assembly and legislative council of her respective state Bihar. Jamuna Devi and Indira Hridayesh are the only two who died in the office.
Rabri Devi is the incumbent female leader of the opposition in Bihar Legislative Council. Atishi Marlena is the incumbent leader of opposition in Delhi Legislative Assembly.

## Chronological list (Legislative Assembly)
### Key

AAP (1)   AIADMK (1)   BJP (1)    CPI (1)    INC (7)   JP (1)    RJD (1) :
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Term of office | Term of office | Term of office | State/Union territory | Political party | Political party | Government | Government | Government |
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Assumed office | Left office | Time in office | State/Union territory | Political party | Political party | Chief Minister | Party | Party | Ref |
| 1 | | Arutla Kamala Devi (1920-2001) | 21 February 1964 | 1 March 1967 | 3 years, 8 days | Andhra Pradesh | Communist Party of India | | Kasu Brahmananda Reddy | Indian National Congress | |
| 2 | | Prabha Rau (1935-2010) | ? February 1979 | 13 July 1979 | ~5-6 months | Maharashtra | Indian National Congress | | Sharad Pawar | Indian Congress (Socialist) | |
| 3 | | Pratibha Patil (b. 1934) | 16 July 1979 | 17 February 1980 | 216 days | Maharashtra | Indian National Congress | | Sharad Pawar | Indian Congress (Socialist) | |
| 4 | | Gurbinder Kaur Brar (1922-2013) | 29 September 1985 | 11 May 1987 | 1 year, 224 days | Punjab | Indian National Congress | | Surjit Singh Barnala | Shiromani Akali Dal | |
| 5 | | K. S. Nagarathnamma (1923-1993) | 29 January 1987 | 21 April 1989 | 2 years, 85 days | Karnataka | Indian National Congress | | Ramakrishna Hegde & S. R. Bommai | Janata Party | |
| 6 | | Mrinal Gore (1928-2012) | 23 December 1988 | 19 October 1989 | 300 days | Maharashtra | Janata Party | | Sharad Pawar | Indian National Congress | |
| 7 | | J. Jayalalithaa (1948–2016) | 9 February 1989 | 1 December 1989 | 5 years, 280 days | Tamil Nadu | All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | | M. Karunanidhi | Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | |
| 7 | | J. Jayalalithaa (1948–2016) | 29 May 2006 | 14 May 2011 | 5 years, 280 days | Tamil Nadu | All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | | M. Karunanidhi | Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | |
| 8 | | Rajinder Kaur Bhattal (b. 1945) | 12 February 1997 | 10 October 1998 | 6 years, 253 days | Punjab | Indian National Congress | | Prakash Singh Badal | Shiromani Akali Dal | |
| 8 | | Rajinder Kaur Bhattal (b. 1945) | 1 March 2007 | 14 March 2012 | 6 years, 253 days | Punjab | Indian National Congress | | Prakash Singh Badal | Shiromani Akali Dal | |
| 9 | | Jamuna Devi (1929-2010) | 16 December 2003 | 11 December 2008 | 6 years, 259 days | Madhya Pradesh | Indian National Congress | | Uma Bharti, Babulal Gaur & Shivraj Singh Chauhan | Bharatiya Janata Party | |
| 9 | | Jamuna Devi (1929-2010) | 7 January 2009 | 24 September 2010 | 6 years, 259 days | Madhya Pradesh | Indian National Congress | | Shivraj Singh Chauhan | Bharatiya Janata Party | |
| 10 | | Rabri Devi (b. 1959) | 30 November 2005 | 24 November 2010 | 4 years, 359 days | Bihar | Rashtriya Janata Dal | | Nitish Kumar | Janata Dal (United) | |
| 11 | | Vasundhra Raje (b. 1953) | 2 January 2009 | 20 February 2013 | 4 years, 49 days | Rajasthan | Bhartiya Janata Party | | Ashok Gehlot | Indian National Congress | |
| 12 | | Indira Hridayesh (1941-2021) | 27 March 2017 | 13 June 2021 | 4 years, 78 days | Uttarakhand | Indian National Congress | | Trivendra Singh Rawat & Tirath Singh Rawat | Bhartiya Janata Party | |
| 13 | | Atishi Marlena* (b. 1981) | 23 February 2025 | Incumbent | 17 days | Delhi | Aam Aadmi Party | | Rekha Gupta | Bhartiya Janata Party | |

## Chronological list (Legislative Council)
### Key

INC (1)   RJD (1) :
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Term of office | Term of office | Term of office | State/Union territory | Political party | Political party | Chief Minister | Ref |
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Assumed office | Left office | Time in office | State/Union territory | Political party | Political party | Chief Minister | Ref |
| 1 | | C. Motamma (b. 1951) | 1 September 2010 | 17 June 2012 | 1 year, 290 days | Karnataka | Indian National Congress | | B. S. Yediyurappa & Sadananda Gowda | |
| 2 | | Rabri Devi* (b. 1959) | 12 May 2018 | 23 June 2020 | 2 years, 42 days | Bihar | Rashtriya Janata Dal | | Nitish Kumar | |
| 2 | | Rabri Devi* (b. 1959) | 11 April 2022 | 9 August 2022 | 120 days | Bihar | Rashtriya Janata Dal | | Nitish Kumar | |
| 2 | | Rabri Devi* (b. 1959) | 16 February 2024 | Incumbent | 1 year, 24 days | Bihar | Rashtriya Janata Dal | | Nitish Kumar | |