Rekha Gupta Sworn In as Delhi CM, Becomes 4th Woman to Hold the Post

Rekha Gupta was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Delhi on Thursday in a grand ceremony at Ramlila Maidan. The event saw the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, top BJP leaders, and NDA chief ministers.

With this, Rekha Gupta becomes Delhi's fourth woman Chief Minister, following Sheila Dikshit, Sushma Swaraj, and Atishi. She is also the fourth BJP leader to hold the position after Madan Lal Khurana, Sahib Singh Verma, and Sushma Swaraj.

Alongside Gupta, her Council of Ministers also took the oath, marking the BJP's return to power in Delhi after 26 years. The six newly elected MLAs sworn in as ministers include Parvesh Verma, who defeated AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal in New Delhi, along with Ashish Sood, Pankaj Singh, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Kapil Mishra, and Ravinder Indraj.

Gupta was elected as the Leader of the House in the newly formed 8th Delhi Assembly during a BJP legislature party meeting on Wednesday. Later that evening, she staked her claim to form the government, which was accepted by Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena at Raj Niwas.

Gupta secured her victory from the Shalimar Bagh constituency, defeating AAP's Bandana Kumari by over 29,000 votes in the recently concluded Delhi Assembly elections.

According to party sources, the new Council of Ministers, led by Rekha Gupta, is expected to hold its first meeting at the Delhi Secretariat around 3 PM. Key initiatives, including the implementation of the Mahila Samriddhi Yojana-providing eligible women with ₹2,500 per month-and the Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme, are likely to be prioritized.

The BJP ended AAP's decade-long rule in Delhi by securing 48 out of 70 seats in the Assembly polls held on February 5. The last time the BJP held power in Delhi was from 1993 to 1998.