NEW DELHI (Diya TV) — Rekha Gupta, a first-time Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Shalimar Bagh, has been elected as the leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislative party and is set to take oath as the Chief Minister of Delhi on February 20.
The news was announced at a gathering of freshly elected BJP MLAs on February 19, where central observers Ravi Shankar Prasad and Om Prakash Dhankar were present. The BJP’s landslide victory, winning 48 of the 70 seats in the latest Assembly polls, brings the party back to power in Delhi after 27 years, ousting the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which captured 22 seats.
Gupta, 50, won a resounding victory against AAP’s Bandana Kumari by more than 29,000 votes in the February 5 polls. She has won two earlier attempts in 2015 and 2020 against the same rival. She will be the fourth woman to occupy the Chief Minister’s chair in Delhi, after predecessors Sushma Swaraj, Sheila Dikshit, and Atishi.
Gupta said, “This faith and confidence have filled me with renewed energy and motivation. I assure you that I shall work with honesty, integrity, and commitment for the well-being and progress of all citizens of Delhi.”
Born on July 19, 1974 in Nandgarh village of Jind district, Haryana, Gupta moved to Delhi with her family in 1976. She started her political career as a student at Delhi University, actively working with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Her political career with the BJP started in the early 2000s when she became a member of the party’s youth wing.
The swearing-in ceremony will be February 20 at the legendary Ramlila Maidan in Delhi. Preparations are being made to seat around 30,000 people. The event is likely to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and some other top leaders.
This win not only marks the BJP’s return to Delhi but also indicates a change in the political scene of the capital. The party’s emphasis on middle-class and female voters, along with the pull of Prime Minister Modi, has been instrumental in turning around its fortunes in the city.
