New Delhi, Feb 20 :
First-time BJP MLA Rekha Gupta was sworn in as Delhi chief minister on Thursday in a grand show of strength that marks the party’s return to power in the national capital after more than 26 years.
Along with Gupta, Parvesh Verma, Ashish Sood, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Kapil Mishra, Ravinder Indraj Singh, Kapil Mishra and Pankaj Singh were also administered the oath of office by Lt Governor V K Saxena on Thursday. The ceremony at the historic Ramlila Ground was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the top BJP brass and NDA chief ministers.
The 50-year-old MLA from Shalimar Bagh is also the only woman in the NDA team of chief ministers, and the fourth woman chief minister of Delhi after Sushma Swaraj(BJP), Sheila Dikshit(Congress) and Atishi(AAP). Vasundhara Raje Scindia was the last woman chief minister from the BJP. She was the CM of Rajasthan for two terms, from 2003 to 2008 and then again from 2013 to 2018.
The new chief minister and her ministers are headed to the Delhi Secretariat to take charge of their offices after the oath ceremony. Among those who attended the event were chief ministers of states ruled by the BJP and its NDA allies — Maharashtra’s Devendra Fadnavis, Andhra Pradesh’s Chandrababu Naidu, Goa’s Pramod Sawant, Haryana’s Nayab Singh Saini and Meghalaya’s Conrad Sangma.
Deputy chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak, and Andhra Pradesh’s Pawan Kalyan were present too.
Prominent cabinet ministers
Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma, who has emerged as a giant killer after defeating former CM and AAP supreme Arvind Kejriwal seat by 4,089 votes, took oath as minister. Verma was Member of Parliament in Lok Sabha from West Delhi for twice from 2014 to 2024. He is the son of former CM Sahib Singh Verma and belongs to Hindu Jat family.
Kapil Mishra had served as minister in the AAP-led government after that he joined BJP in 2019. Mishra won from Karawal Nagar constituency. He has done social activities and raised various important issues like farmers suicides, Yamuna River bed and corruption issues. In Delhi Assembly election 2015, he was a candidate of AAP and won from Karawal Nagar constituency by defeating his rival BJP candidate. Mishra is the son of former Mayor of (erstwhile East Delhi Municipal Corporation) Annapurna Mishra and alumni of Delhi University’s Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar College.
Ashish Sood is a seasoned politician and BJP leader in Delhi. He is the in-charge of Goa BJP unit and co-in-charge of Jammu & Kashmir BJP Unit. He was elected as MLA from Janakpuri Assembly constituency by defeating AAP’s Parveen Kumar .
Manjinder Singh Sirsa, who won the Rajouri Garden seat by defeating AAP candidate, took oath as minister. He was the President of Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, who was elected in 2013 and then in 2017.
Ravinder Indraj Singh, the son of a former MLA, who studied in Delhi University, also took oath. He won from Bawana Assembly constituency. Singh, a Dalit face of BJP, defeated AAP’s Jai Bhagwan Upkar by over 31,000 votes. He has been working for the community welfare and upliftment for decades.
Pankaj Kumar Singh, son of a former bureaucrat, won the assembly seat from Vikaspuri. He will serve as the minister this time. He is a dentist by profession and has served in key positions in the MCD. He defeated his rival and sitting MLA of AAP from Vikaspuri seat.
Offered Prayers Before Ceremony
Before reaching the venue, she took out a public rally and flashed a ‘victory sign’ for her party. Visuals from the rally showed hundreds of supporters giving her flowers or paintings.
She also offered prayers at the Hanuman Mandir at Kashmiri gate before proceeding to the venue. Just as she reached the venue, she was greeted by multiple party leaders including her designated ministerial colleague Parvesh Sahib Singh.
‘Huge Responsibility Towards Delhi’
Party leader Parvesh Sahib Singh told reporters, “We have a huge responsibility towards Delhi. People of Delhi gave us immense love and blessings. After 27 years, BJP is going to form the govt in Delhi today. I thank PM Modi whose development has been trusted by the people.” Multiple party leaders, including union ministers and CMs of neighbouring states, have come to attend the ceremony.
Name Announced After 11 Days of Suspense
Rekha Gupta’s name was chosen by the BJP High Command, capping 11 days of suspense over who would get the top post after the BJP returned to power after over 26 years ending the 10-year rule of the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP.
She was chosen as the Leader of the House in the Delhi Assembly at the BJP legislature party meeting late Wednesday evening here, senior BJP leader Ravishankar Prasad, who along with OP Dhankar was appointed as the party’s two central observers, announced on Wednesday.
Accompanied by Prasad, Dhankar and Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva among others, she met Lt Governor VK Saxena and staked a claim to form the government. Late in the night, a post of the LG on X said he had accepted the claim by Gupta and invited her to form the new government.
President Droupadi Murmu officially appointed Gupta as the Chief Minister through a gazette notification issued by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs on Thursday. It said the appointments would be effective from the date they are sworn in. “The President is pleased to appoint Mrs. Rekha Gupta as the Chief Minister, National Capital Territory of Delhi with effect from the date she is sworn in,” reads the notification signed by Praveen Kumar Rai, joint secretary.
She had won the recently-held Delhi assembly elections 2025 from Shalimar Bagh after defeating AAP candidate Bandana Kumari by over 29,000 votes.
‘Will Match PM Modi’s Expectations’
Gupta, expressed her gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party leadership for placing their in her, saying that “I will stand up to his expectations.
“PM Narendra Modi has shown immense faith in an ordinary party worker and daughter like me. I will stand up to his expectations. I want to thank the party leadership and PM Narendra Modi who showed immense faith in a commoner like me and bestowed such a big responsibility on me… My story can be an inspiration for every woman, that a common middle-class woman can also be given a chance to reach the top leadership of the party,” Gupta said.
Why Was She Picked?
The selection of Gupta, who will be the only woman chief minister among the states being ruled by the BJP or in coalition with its allies at present, is being seen as efforts by the BJP to send a message to its women voter base. Gupta will now be the second woman chief minister in the country after TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal).
Though the Law graduate from Delhi University with strong RSS roots is making her debut in the Assembly, Gupta, who hails from the Baniya community, entered politics as an Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) member in 1992. Born in Haryana’s Julana, she has a 32-year association with the RSS and is a former Delhi civic councillor.
All the 48 newly-elected BJP MLAs attended the legislature party meeting in the presence of Prasad and Dhankar. Gupta’s name was proposed by senior party leaders Parvesh Verma, Vijender Gupta and Satish Upadhyay.
Verma, son of former Delhi chief minister Sahib Singh Verma who defeated AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal, was among the strong contenders for the top post. The Delhi Assembly poll results were declared on February 8.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah congratulated Gupta, saying the BJP government under her leadership will work day and night to fulfil the expectations of the people of the national capital. Outgoing Delhi Chief Minister Atishi and Kejriwal, a former Delhi chief minister, also congratulated Gupta.
Atishi expressed the hope that Gupta would fulfil the promises made by the BJP during the high octane election campaign. “I want to tell the new CM that the AAP will always stand with her for the development of Delhi. It’s good news that a woman is going to lead a state.
“I also hope that Rekha Gupta will soon fulfil BJP’s promise of providing Rs 2,500 to women,” she said. From cash incentives to welfare schemes, all major parties had made significant promises to woo women voters ahead of the February 5 Assembly elections in Delhi.
Kejriwal, in a post on X, extended his best wishes to Gupta. “Many congratulations to Rekha Gupta ji on becoming the Chief Minister of Delhi. I hope she will fulfil all the promises made to the people of Delhi. “We will support her in every effort for the development and welfare of the people of Delhi,” he wrote.
Rekha is married to Manish Gupta, a businessman. The couple has two children–a daughter who lives in Australia and a son who is studying in Vellore in Tamil Nadu.
