Rekha Gupta took oath as the Chief Minister of Delhi on Thursday in a grand ceremony held at the Ramlila Maidan in the national capital. The event witnessed the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, several National Democratic Alliance (NDA) chief ministers, and senior BJP leaders.
Gupta has become the fourth woman Chief Minister of Delhi, following in the footsteps of Sheila Dikshit, Sushma Swaraj, and Atishi. She is also the fourth BJP leader to hold the top post in Delhi, succeeding Madan Lal Khurana, Sahib Singh Verma, and Sushma Swaraj.
Along with Gupta, her Council of Ministers also took oath, signaling the BJP’s return to power in Delhi after a 26-year gap. The new cabinet includes six newly elected MLAs—Parvesh Verma, who defeated Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal from the New Delhi constituency, Ashish Sood, Pankaj Singh, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Kapil Mishra, and Ravinder Indraj.
Gupta was chosen as the Leader of the House in the newly constituted 8th Delhi Assembly following a BJP legislature party meeting on Wednesday. Subsequently, Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena invited her to form the government after she staked claim to it late Wednesday evening at Raj Niwas.
The newly sworn-in Chief Minister secured her seat in the Delhi Assembly from Shalimar Bagh, defeating AAP candidate Bandana Kumari by a margin of over 29,000 votes in the recent elections.
According to sources cited by PTI, the newly formed Council of Ministers is expected to hold its first meeting at the Delhi Secretariat around 3 PM. Key policy decisions anticipated at the meeting include the implementation of the Mahila Samriddhi Yojna, under which eligible women will receive a monthly stipend of Rs 2,500, and the rollout of the Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme in the capital.
The BJP’s decisive victory in the Delhi Assembly elections, held on February 5, ended a decade-long rule of the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP. The party secured 48 out of 70 seats, marking a significant political shift in the capital.
The BJP had last governed Delhi between 1993 and 1998, and its return to power after more than two decades signals a new political chapter for the national capital.
