Rekha Gupta has been appointed as Delhi’s new Chief Minister, marking a significant shift for the BJP, which won 48 of 70 seats in the recent assembly elections. The President’s office confirmed her appointment along with six other ministers, including Parvesh Singh Verma and Kapil Mishra. The oath-taking ceremony will be held at Ramlila Maidan and aims to engage various community members. Mishra criticized the previous AAP government, claiming they had betrayed the public, while Gupta, a first-time MLA, expressed surprise at her selection as chief minister, proposed by Verma. The BJP also seeks to appeal to women voters in the capital.
New Delhi:
Parvesh Singh Verma and Kapil Mishra will be included in the forthcoming Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta’s seven-member Bharatiya Janata Party government for the national capital, as confirmed by a notification from President Droupadi Murmu’s office on Thursday morning, just hours before the oath ceremony.
Ms. Murmu’s notifications confirmed Rekha Gupta as Chief Minister and also named Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Ashish Sood, Pankaj Kumar Singh, and Ravinder Indraj Singh as part of the cabinet.
Portfolios have yet to be assigned.
READ | Delhi Welcomes New Chief Minister, Grand Oath Ceremony Today
All ministers are set to take oath in a grand ceremony at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan.
The BJP is fully invested in preparing for the ceremony, sending invitations not just to movie stars and business tycoons, but also to the ‘aam aadmi‘, which includes auto rickshaw drivers and farmers.
READ | Women and Farmers on BJP’s ‘Aam Aadmi’ Guest List for Delhi Oath
Remarks from the New Ministers
Mr. Mishra, who faced accusations of delivering hate speeches during the communal riots in Delhi in 2020, told news agency ANI that the previous government had “betrayed the people of Delhi” and faced repercussions from the public.
#WATCH | BJP leader Kapil Mishra, who will take oath as a Delhi minister today, stated, “… We will all collaborate to realize PM Modi’s vision. They (AAP) have deceived the people of Delhi, and they faced their punishment through the ballot… There will be an… pic.twitter.com/O4fuFVRKuS
— ANI (@ANI) February 20, 2025
“An investigation into the Aam Aadmi Party’s corruption and against Arvind Kejriwal will be initiated,” he added after he visited the Jhandewala Devi Mandir in Karol Bagh to offer prayers.
Meanwhile, Mr. Sirsa expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and BJP chief JP Nadda for “this opportunity to serve as a Delhi minister.” “This is a chance for all of us to work together to restore Delhi’s beauty…” he told ANI.
#WATCH | BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa, about to take oath as a Delhi minister, says, “I thank PM Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, JP Nadda, Baijayant Panda, and Virendraa Sachdeva for including me in the team that aims to fulfill the vision of PM Modi for… pic.twitter.com/IHdiirdAuZ
— ANI (@ANI) February 20, 2025
The notifications concluded a suspenseful 12 days following the Delhi Assembly election, which the BJP won decisively. The BJP delivered a significant defeat to the Aam Aadmi Party, led by former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, which had governed the national capital since 2013, winning 48 of the 70 seats.
The AAP, which dominated the previous two elections with 67 and 62 seats, captured the remainder.
However, between the announcement of the results on February 8 and late last night, there was uncertainty regarding the successor to AAP’s Atishi as Chief Minister, as the BJP kept its plans under wraps. Speculations were settled when the party chose Ms. Gupta.
Sources informed NDTV that the delay was partly due to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s trips to France and the United States, which postponed meetings of the party’s Parliamentary Board and the newly elected legislators, both of which concluded yesterday.
BJP Chooses Rekha Gupta
Rekha Gupta is set to be the BJP’s first Delhi Chief Minister in nearly thirty years.
READ | First-Time MLA Rekha Gupta Appointed as Delhi’s New Chief Minister
Ms. Gupta, a first-time MLA from Shalimar Bagh, will also be the party’s second female Delhi Chief Minister, following the late Sushma Swaraj, who was the last BJP leader to hold this position.
She spoke to NDTV this morning, indicating that when she left her house for the legislators’ meeting the previous day, she had no idea she would be chosen to lead the government.
READ | All About Rekha Gupta, Delhi’s Fourth Female Chief Minister
“I was unaware that I would become Chief Minister when I left home,” she mentioned, adding that it was Mr. Verma who actually suggested her name for the top position.
Mr. Verma, a two-term former Lok Sabha MP and son of another former Delhi Chief Minister, Saheb Singh Verma, was perceived as a potential candidate for the role, especially after defeating Arvind Kejriwal to claim the prestigious New Delhi constituency.
The history of two of the last three Delhi Chief Ministers—Mr. Kejriwal and Congress leader Sheila Dikshit—also strengthened his candidacy. However, the BJP’s senior leadership decided differently.
Ms. Gupta’s selection highlights the party’s focus on women voters in this election and previous ones, a strategy evident in how the BJP, AAP, and even the Congress, despite its third consecutive loss, approached campaigning by making special promises to women.
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