Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Rekha Gupta, on Thursday (Feb 20), was sworn in as Delhi Chief Minister in a grand ceremony at the Ramlila Maidan.

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In the ceremony, Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena administered the oath of office to Rekha Gupta and her council of ministers.

The swearing-in ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Union Cabinet, and Chief Ministers from various states. 

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Minister JP Nadda, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, also attended the event.

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Six other MLAs, including Parvesh Sahib Singh, Ashish Sood, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Ravinder Indraj Singh, Kapil Mishra, and Pankaj Kumar Singh, also took oath as ministers alongside Gupta. 

Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis, Bihar Deputy CM Vijay Kumar Sinha, Rajasthan Deputy CM Prem Chand Bairwa, Goa CM Pramod Sawant, Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu and other leaders were also present at the spot.

This marks a significant milestone, as Gupta becomes the fourth woman to hold this office, following in the footsteps of Atishi Singh, Sushma Swaraj, and Sheila Dikshit.

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The BJP's landslide victory in the Assembly elections, securing 48 seats out of 70, paved the way for Gupta's appointment as Chief Minister.

Also read: Rekha Gupta's Cabinet: Parvesh Verma, Ashish Sood, 4 other BJP MLAs to be ministers in Delhi government

Who is Rekha Gupta?

A first-time MLA, Gupta contested the Shalimar Bagh constituency in the Delhi assembly elections against AAP's Bandana Kumari and won by 29,595 votes, marking the end of AAP’s decade-long hold in the area.

Born in 1974, Gupta hails from Nandgarh village in Haryana’s Jind district. In 1976, her family moved to Delhi, where she completed her primary and higher education. Her father was an officer in the State Bank of India.

A lawyer by profession, Gupta began her political career in 1992 when she joined the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) at Daulat Ram College, Delhi University. She became President of the Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU) in 1996-97.

In 2007, she won the Delhi Councillor election from North Pitampura. She launched the “Sumedha Yojana” to support economically weaker female students in higher education. She also led initiatives for women empowerment as Chair of the Women Welfare and Child Development Committee.

Gupta has also served as General Secretary of BJP Mahila Morcha in Delhi and was part of its national executive committee.

(With inputs from agencies)