Who is Rekha Gupta, Delhi’s new Chief Minister?

Who is Rekha Gupta — Delhi’s new Chief Minister?

Rekha Gupta, the debutante MLA from Shalimar Bagh, has been chosen to be Delhi’s next Chief Minister, the Bharatiya Janata Party said after a Delhi legislative party meeting at its national headquarters on Wednesday evening. Ms. Gupta, 50, will be the fourth woman to head the government in the State.

The announcement comes nearly 10 days after the BJP returned to power in the national capital after 26 yearswinning 48 out of 70 seats in the Delhi Assembly election. The party is yet to announce its picks for ministerial berths.

Ms. Gupta, a three-time Municipal Councillor who was active in student politics, was a surprise choice. She beat out a number of other probable candidates, including Parvesh Sahib Singh who had defeated Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal in the New Delhi seat, three-term MLA and former leader of the Opposition Vijender Gupta, and former Delhi BJP President Satish upadhyay.

Oath-taking ceremony

After the legislative party meeting ended at 8 p.m., senior BJP leaders accompanied Ms. Gupta to Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena’s residence so she could stake her claim to form the government. The oath-taking ceremony, set to take place at the Ramlila Maidan on February 20, will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, top BJP leaders, and the Chief Ministers of NDA-ruled States.

Ms. Gupta’s selection by the legislative party was overseen by two centrally appointed observers, senior BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad, and former Haryana MLA O.P. Dhankar. BJP sources said that nine proposals were made in her favour, and all were approved by consensus. Three MLAs supported her claim to become the leader of the Delhi BJP’s legislative party. The meeting was attended by all 48 MLAs-elect, as well as Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva and other senior Delhi BJP leaders.

Also read: Delhi CM oath-taking ceremony LIVE

Speaking to the media after the meeting, Ms. Gupta expressed her gratitude to the top leadership of the party for trusting her with the responsibility. “I pledge that I will work with full honesty, integrity and dedication for the welfare, empowerment and overall development of every citizen of Delhi. I am fully committed to this important opportunity to take Delhi to new heights,” Ms. Gupta said.

Former MCD councillor, DUSU chief

Ms. Gupta is an active member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, and has completed three terms as a councillor in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. She started her political journey with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the RSS student wing, and was president of the Delhi University Students Association in 1996. She will be the fourth woman Chief Minister of Delhi, following the BJP’s Sushma Swaraj, the Congress’s Sheila Dikshit, and the AAP’s Atishi.

In this month’s Assembly election, Ms. Gupta defeated three-time AAP MLA Bandana Kumari by a margin of 29,595 votes.

Former Chief Minister and AAP supremo Mr. Kejriwal posted a congratulatory message to Ms. Gupta on X, saying, “I hope that she will fulfil all the promises made to the people of Delhi. We will support her in every work for the development and welfare of the people of Delhi.”