BJP’s Rekha Gupta Sworn in as Delhi Chief Minister in Grand Ceremony, PM Modi in attendance

Bhartiya Janta Party’s (BJP) Rekha Gupta was sworn in as the 11th Chief Minister of Delhi on Thursday afternoon in a grand ceremony at Ramlila Maidan. The event marked a historic moment as Gupta, a first-time Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Shalimar Bagh, took the oath in the presence of key political figures including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP President JP Nadda, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, along with several other BJP allies.
Gupta’s elevation to the top post is seen as a significant shift in Delhi’s political landscape. She becomes the fourth woman to hold the position of Delhi Chief Minister, following the footsteps of Sushma Swaraj (BJP), Sheila Dikshit (Congress), and Atishi (Aam Aadmi Party). This development marks the BJP’s return to power in Delhi after a gap of 27 years, with the last time the party held the position being in 1998, when Sushma Swaraj briefly served as CM.

In addition to Gupta, six other MLAs were sworn in, including Aashish Sood, Ravinder Singh, Parvesh Verma, Kapil Mishra, Pankaj Kumar Singh, and Manjinder Singh Sirsa. The portfolios for the newly sworn-in ministers will be announced at a later date.

Gupta, who secured a decisive victory in Shalimar Bagh, ousting the AAP’s Bandana Kumari, has long been considered a rising star in the BJP. Her political journey began in the 1990s when she joined the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) during her student days at Daulat Ram College. Gupta’s leadership skills were first recognised when she was elected President of the Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) in 1996. Since then, she has served as a three-time councillor at the Delhi Municipal Corporation (MCD) and General Secretary of the BJP Mahila Morcha in Delhi. Her victory in Shalimar Bagh, where she won by a margin of 29,000 votes, has cemented her standing as a key political figure.