After Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Rekha Gupta was sworn in as the chief minister of Delhi in a grand ceremony at the Ramlila Maidan on Thursday (Feb 20), Congress leader Alka Lamba shared a 1995 photograph of her with Gupta, reminiscing their days together as members of the Delhi University Students Union (DUSU).

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“I want to congratulate Rekha ji. When the BJP announced Rekha ji's name as Delhi CM, I went back 30 years... I recalled the day when we took oath together... I won the DUSU president election as NSUI candidate and she won the secretary seat. I shared a photo to that memorable moment yesterday,” said Lamba, who contested against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)’s Atishi from the Kalkaji assembly seat in the recent Assembly elections.

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While sharing the photograph on X, Lamba wrote in Hindi, “This memorable picture from 1995 — when Rekha Gupta and I took oath together. NSUI won the post of President of Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) and Rekha won the post of General Secretary from ABVP.”

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“Congratulations and best wishes to Rekha Gupta… Congratulations on becoming Delhi’s fourth woman Chief Minister. We the people of Delhi hope that ma Yamuna will be clean and our daughters will be safe,” she added.

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In the photograph, Rekha Gupta and Alka Lamba can be seen standing on the stage together after their victory in the university elections. Gupta became the president of DUSU the following year.

Reminiscing college days

Recalling their college days, Lamba shared that while both had ideological differences, they united to fight for women’s safety and security on campus.

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“I was a Gandhian and she was a staunch RSS supporter… We used to have ideological fights but we both were 20 years old and had to juggle both college and politics… and we had only one year,” she told PTI.

“Back then, we did not have mobile phones or social media… When I heard her name, I took out my old album and searched for the pictures…,” added Lamba.

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Lamba further congratulated Gupta on becoming chief minister of Delhi, “I am happy to see the growth of Rekha in politics. She contested for the first time and became a minister… She is a grassroots level supporter of the Sangh and her trust and faith are fructified today… She is a hard worker… She will have challenges as a first-time MLA and CM…”

(With inputs from agencies)