It's official: Rekha Gupta will be Delhi's fourth woman Chief Minister; set to take oath on Feb 20

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Feb 19 appointed Rekha Gupta, a first-time MLA, who began her political journey with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in 1992 and rose to become the president of the Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU) in 1996, as the new Chief Minister of Delhi following its landslide victory in the recently concluded Delhi Assembly polls.

The announcement came after Gupta was elected as the leader of the BJP legislative party during a meeting of newly-elected BJP MLAs.

Gupta, a senior BJP leader with significant experience in both state and national politics will take oath on Feb 20 as the fourth woman to serve as Delhi’s Chief Minister. She will be joined by Parvesh Verma and six other ministers during the swearing-in ceremony at historic Ramlila Maidan Delhi.

Senior BJP leaders Ravi Shankar Prasad and Om Prakash Dhankar attended the meeting in which Gupta was elected. This marks BJP’s return to power in Delhi after 27 years.

Expressing gratitude to the top leadership, Gupta said she is fully committed to this important opportunity to take Delhi to new heights.

"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.” Gupta wrote on X.

“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," she added.

Gupta, along with a few members of the 7-member Delhi cabinet, arrived at Raj Niwas to meet Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena and stake their claim to form the government, a BJP leader said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP MPs, as well as top NDA leaders, are expected to attend the event, apart from around 30,000 people including prominent Hindu seers and members from local communities.

Gupta’s journey began with student politics at Delhi University. She has served three terms as a municipal councilor and previously held the position of mayor in the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC). She has also served as the general secretary of the BJP Mahila Morcha in Delhi and as a member of the party’s national executive committee.

Notably, she is the only woman Chief Minister among the sitting BJP chief ministers.

The BJP secured a historic victory in recently concluded elections, winning 48 seats and defeating the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Preparations for the swearing-in ceremony to be attended by top BJP leadership and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Ramlila Maidan have been completed, a senior BJP leader said.

Gupta contested the 2025 Delhi Assembly polls from the Shalimar Bagh constituency, securing over 68,000 votes. She defeated AAP’s Bandana Kumari by a margin of more than 29,000 votes.

New Delhi MLA Parvesh Verma is set to become the Deputy CM, and Vijender Gupta, Rohini MLA has been appointed as speaker of the Delhi Assembly, sources said.

Congratulating Gupta, BJP National General Secretary Tarun Chugh said, " From a student leader, she carried forward the party's ideology, she has been selected as leader of Delhi BJP Legislative Party. I congratulate her..."

Union Minister Harsh Malhotra said, "PM Modi not only speaks about Women empowerment, but he works for it too. She has been elected as the leader of MLAs..."

AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal hoped that Gupta would fulfill all the promises made to the people of Delhi.

"Many congratulations to Rekha Gupta ji on becoming the Chief Minister of Delhi. I hope that she will fulfill all the promises made to the people of Delhi. We will support her in every work for the development and welfare of the people of Delhi," Kejriwal wrote on X.

Delhi's caretaker chief minister & AAP leader Atishi also congratulated Gupta, “I congratulate Rekha Gupta for becoming the CM...I hope that the BJP will fulfill all the promises that they have made to the people of Delhi...I would like to say from the AAP front that our party is always ready to extend our support to the BJP for the development work here...She will be the fourth CM of Delhi, and it is a very good thing that women are showing up in politics with great enthusiasm...”