BJP names Rekha Gupta as new Delhi CM
What's the story
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has named Rekha Gupta as the new chief minister of Delhi.
The announcement was made after a meeting of the BJP Legislative Party at 7:00pm, which was attended by central observers OP Dhankad and Ravi Shankar Prasad.
The BJP is returning to power after more than 26 years following the recent victory in the assembly elections, where it won 48 out of 70 seats, ending the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)'s 10-year long reign.
Twitter Post
Gupta chosen as the leader of the BJP Legislative Party
श्रीमती रेखा गुप्ता जी को दिल्ली भाजपा विधायक दल का नेता चुने जाने पर हार्दिक बधाई एवं अशेष शुभकामनाएँ।
— BJP Delhi (@BJP4Delhi) February 19, 2025
हमें पूर्ण विश्वास है कि आपके नेतृत्व में प्रदेश उत्तरोत्तर प्रगति करेगा। pic.twitter.com/K8Mu5SyvdV
Oath-taking ceremony
Swearing-in ceremony to mark 'historic event in Delhi'
A seasoned BJP leader, she was one of the four elected women MLAs from the party.
She defeated AAP's Bandana Kumari by a significant margin of 29,595 votes from the Shalimar Bagh constituency.
Gupta will be sworn in at Ramlila Maidan on Thursday.
BJP National General Secretary Tarun Chugh emphasized the importance of the forthcoming swearing-in ceremony, calling it "a historic event in Delhi."
The ceremony will begin with a cultural program at 11:00am followed by the oath-taking at 12:35pm.
Guest list
30,000 guests expected at swearing-in ceremony
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and many other high-profile leaders are likely to attend.
The swearing-in ceremony is expected to attract around 30,000 guests.
The guest list includes BJP state Chief Ministers, Union Ministers, National Democratic Alliance (NDA) leaders, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leaders, spiritual gurus, industrialists and celebrities.
Invitations have also been sent to various community representatives and BJP workers who helped in the election campaign.
Political shift
Atishi served as chief minister for about 5 months
After the AAP's defeat, former Chief Minister Atishi resigned from her post.
Atishi served as chief minister for about five months.
She took over in September last year, after AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal resigned after being given bail in a corruption case involving Delhi's now-defunct liquor policy.
At the time, he stated that he will return to the top post following the "people's court" ruling.