New Delhi, 20 February — Rekha Gupta took the oath as Delhi’s Chief Minister on Thursday, marking the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) return to power in the capital after 26 years. The swearing-in ceremony at Ramlila Ground was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, senior BJP leaders, and chief ministers from NDA-ruled states.
Gupta, 50, an MLA from Shalimar Bagh, became Delhi’s ninth and fourth woman chief minister. She is also the only woman among the NDA’s chief ministers.
Delhi Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena administered the oath after inviting Gupta to form the government late Wednesday, following her election as Leader of the House in the newly constituted 8th Delhi Assembly.
Six MLAs—Parvesh Verma, who defeated AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal in New Delhi, Ashish Sood, Pankaj Singh, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Kapil Mishra, and Ravinder Indraj—were also sworn in as ministers.
Gupta’s first cabinet meeting is expected to be held at 3 p.m. at the Delhi Secretariat.
According to BJP sources, the new government could roll out the Mahila Samriddhi Yojana, offering eligible women a monthly payment of ₹2,500, along with the Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme.
Gupta’s political journey traces back to her RSS roots and student activism.
Her rise within the BJP culminated in the party’s sweeping victory in the February 5 Assembly elections, where it won 48 of 70 seats, ending Arvind Kejriwal’s decade-long rule. The BJP last governed Delhi from 1993 to 1998.
