New Delhi:
The Delhi government will be led by a woman Chief Minister again as the BJP zeroed in Rekha Gupta, its first-time MLA from Shalimar Bagh, for the Chief Minister’s post. The decision was taken at a meeting of the party’s legislature party this evening. Ms Gupta succeeds Aam Aadmi Party’s Atishi after the BJP ended the 10-year-rule of Arvind Kejriwal’s party in the recently concluded assembly election.
The formal announcement came from the X handle of the Delhi BJP. “Hearty congratulations and best wishes to Mrs. Rekha Gupta ji on being elected the leader of the Delhi BJP Legislative Party. We have full faith that the state will progress under your leadership,” read a rough translation of their Hindi post.
Sources said she will have a six-member council. All the castes and communities that supported the BJP – Jata, Baniyas, Punjabis, Dalits, will get representation. Sources said six names are doing the rounds for the Delhi cabinet: Manjinder Sirsa, Ashish Sood, Pankaj Kumar Singh, Ravinder Singh Indraj, Kapil Mishra and Pravesh Verma.
“I thank BJP, and I am grateful for the blessings of all of you… I am committed to taking Delhi to new heights,” Ms Gupta told the media before proceeding to the Raj Bhavan to stake claim to form government.
Leader of the BJP Legislative Party in the Delhi Legislative Assembly, Smt Rekha Gupta called on Hon’ble LG, Shri V. K. Saxena at Raj Niwas and staked her claim to form the new Government of NCT of Delhi.
Hon’ble LG accepted the claim and invited her to form the new government. pic.twitter.com/OYnZyj3gbl
— LG Delhi (@LtGovDelhi) February 19, 2025
The BJP is planning a massive ceremony for the oath of the new government at Delhi’s iconic Ramlila Maidan tomorrow.
The BJP’s last Chief Minister in Delhi was also a woman, Sushma Swaraj, who was in the top post for 52 days in 1998. She was succeeded by the Congress’s Sheila Dikshit, who headed the Congress government in the national capital for three full terms.
For the BJP, her selection sends out much more than a signal of continuity.
She was chosen over Parvesh Verma — a front-runner for the post who beat AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal from the New Delhi constituency.
Mr Verma is also the son of Saheb Singh Verma, a former Delhi Chief Minister of Delhi. Choosing him as Chief Minister in the highly visible national capital would have laid open the BJP to Opposition allegations of dynasty politics.
There are also hopes that choosing a first-time MLA would help avert factionalism within the state party — a factor that is plaguing the BJP in several other states.
Among the first to congratulate the Chief Minister elect today was Atishi, who offered to help if needed.
“I extend my hearty congratulations and best wishes to Mrs. @gupta_rekha ji on being elected the leader of the BJP Legislative Party. I have full faith that you will work with dedication in the direction of the resolution taken by Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji to make Delhi one of the top capitals of the world. I am confident that the BJP government under your leadership will work day and night to fulfilll the hopes and expectations with which the mothers and sisters of Delhi have blessed the BJP,” read a rough translation of a post on X from Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Ms Gupta started her political journey as a member of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, becoming the president and general secretary of the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU).
She has served as the general secretary of the BJP Mahila Morcha in Delhi, a member of the party’s national executive committee, and then councillor from North Pitampura in 2007. Later she served as the mayor of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation.