Rekha Gupta, who became MLA for the first time, will be the CM of Delhi
#News Bureau February 19,2025
Rekha Gupta will be the new Chief Minister of Delhi. Her name was announced after the meeting of the Legislative Party. The names of many people including Parvesh Verma, Vijendra Gupta, Bansuri Swaraj were in the race for the post of CM. But finally the name of Rekha Gupta, who became MLA for the first time, was finalized. BJP gave the first woman CM in Delhi in the form of Sushma Swaraj. Now Rekha Gupta has been chosen for this post. She will be the fourth woman CM of Delhi. Before her, Atishi and Sheila Dixit were the CMs of Delhi.
After getting a clear majority on 48 out of 70 seats in the assembly elections declared on 8 February, BJP has returned to power in Delhi after 27 years. The swearing-in ceremony of the new Chief Minister is to be held on 20 February at Ramlila Maidan. Rekha Gupta defeated AAP’s Bandana Kumari and Congress’ Praveen Kumar Jain on the Shalimar Bagh seat by a margin of 29,595 votes. The CM was elected ten days after the election results. National Secretary Om Prakash Dhankar and former Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad were appointed as central observers to monitor the selection process of the new Chief Minister.
The BJP, which came back to power in Delhi after 27 years, had focused on wooing women voters. The manifesto promised a monthly assistance of Rs 2,500 for women, Rs 21,000 for pregnant women and pension for the elderly. It had said that the aim was to empower women. The BJP’s promises were an attempt to outdo the AAP, which had promised a monthly benefit of Rs 2,100 to women if it won the elections for the third time.
It is being said that the BJP is focusing on women in view of the elections in many states. Women voters have played a very important role in the recent elections held in states like Karnataka, Jharkhand, Maharashtra. Rekha Gupta will be the only woman CM in the states currently ruled by the BJP.
Sharing a photo with PM Modi after being elected to the CM post, Rekha Gupta wrote, ‘I express my heartfelt gratitude to all the top leadership for trusting me and entrusting me with the responsibility of the post of Chief Minister. This trust and support of yours has given me new energy and inspiration. I pledge that I will work with full honesty, integrity and dedication for the welfare, empowerment and overall development of every citizen of Delhi. I am fully committed to this important opportunity to take Delhi to new heights.’
Who is Rekha Gupta?
BJP veteran Rekha Gupta’s political career began with student politics and has had a long political career. The 50-year-old leader, currently serving as the general secretary of Delhi BJP, won 68,200 votes from the Shalimar Bagh seat in the 2025 Delhi Assembly elections.
A lawyer by profession, Rekha Gupta’s political journey began as the president of the Delhi University Students Union from 1996 to 1997. She later turned to municipal politics and won the Delhi Councillor election from North Pitampura (Ward 54) in 2007. Successfully won the election again in 2012. Gupta, a first-time MLA, has also served as the Mayor of South Delhi Municipal Corporation. This has further strengthened her administrative credentials.
There was discussion on female CM
Since the declaration of election results, different names were being discussed for the CM post. But the most speculations were being made that this time BJP can give a female Chief Minister to Delhi. Apart from four women MLAs of BJP – Rekha Gupta, Neelam Pehelwan, Poonam Sharma and Shikha Roy, Bansuri Swaraj was considered ahead in this race. Along with this, speculations were also being made on the Bania community factor.
Apart from women candidates, many other names were also being discussed for the new Chief Minister of Delhi. Speculations were being made on the names of former BJP Chief Minister Saheb Singh Verma’s son Parvesh Verma, former Delhi BJP President Satish Upadhyay, senior leader Vijendra Gupta, Ashish Sood, Pawan Sharma. But among all these names, Rekha Gupta’s name prevailed over all.
