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Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Thursday said that the BJP would fulfil promises made to the people of the national capital.
She will visit the Yamuna Ghat for Aarti later in the day and will chair her first maiden cabinet meeting. "We have a cabinet meeting today. We will continuously work towards the mission of Viksit Delhi, and we will fulfil all the promises that we have made... we will go to Yamuna Ghat for aarti. The cabinet meeting will be held at 7 pm," she said. Rekha Gupta assumed office as Delhi Chief Minister at the Secretariat here on Thursday. She is the second woman Chief Minister belonging to the BJP in Delhi and the fourth woman Chief Minister in the national capital. Rekha Gupta was sworn-in as Delhi Chief Minister in a grand ceremony at Ramlila Maidan. Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena administered the oath of office to Rekha Gupta and her council of ministers. Six other ministers - Parvesh Verma, Ashish Sood, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Ravinder Indraj Singh, Kapil Mishra, and Pankaj Kumar Singh, also took oath of office. Bharatiya Janata Party's top leadership, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Health Minister and BJP chief JP Nadda, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh were present on the occasion. Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis, Goa CM Pramod Sawant, Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu, Bihar Deputy CM Vijay Kumar Sinha and Rajasthan Deputy CM Prem Chand Bairwa were among those present. Having risen from the ranks and served Delhi in different organisational capacities and as a councillor, Rekha Gupta is familiar with the issues and problems of the national capital. With the BJP's election manifesto containing a slew of promises, she is expected to hit the ground running and adopt a hands-on approach. The national capital has had women Chief Ministers from the BJP, Congress, and Aam Aadmi Party. Elected from the Shalimar Bagh seat, Rekha Gupta has served as general secretary of BJP Mahila Morcha in Delhi and as a member of its national executive committee. In these roles, she initiated numerous campaigns for the welfare of marginalized communities and women. Rekha Gupta started her political journey with Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), a student body affiliated to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Having studied at Delhi University's Daulat Ram College, she became the President of the Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU) in 1996-97 and actively raised student issues. As a councillor from North Pitampura in 2007, she worked on developing basic facilities in the area, such as libraries and parks. She has also pursued an LLB and is the founder of the AAS, an NGO. She lost the mayoral election to AAP's Shelly Oberoi in 2023. A first-time MLA, Rekha Gupta, 50, was preferred over more senior leaders in Delhi BJP apparently because the party wanted a woman leader to assume the post. She is known to keep a low profile compared to some other leaders in the Delhi BJP. Her name as the next Delhi CM was announced after days of intense speculation about the possible choice. The results of the Delhi assembly polls were declared on February 8. With BJP stressing on women empowerment, Rekha Gupta's elevation will help the party emphasise its credentials among women. She will be the only woman among the present BJP Chief Ministers. After her election as leader of the BJP legislature party, Rekha Gupta expressed her gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the party leadership and the people of Delhi for the responsibility bestowed on her. (ANI)
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