NEW DELHI: First-time MLA from Shalimar Bagh, Rekha Gupta, on Thursday sworn in as chief minister of Delhi at Ramlila Maidan. The oath-taking ceremony took place in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his Cabinet colleagues and chief ministers of National Democratic Alliance-governed states, among others.
Along with Gupta, leaders including Parvesh Verma, Ashish Sood, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Ravinder Indraj Singh, Kapil Mishra and Pankaj Kumar Singh also took oath as ministers.
Delhi LG V K Saxena administered the oath of office to Rekha Gupta and her council of ministers.
BJP finally capped 11 days of suspense on Wednesday over who will get the top post following its return to power in the national capital after more than 26 years, ending the 10-year rule of the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP.
Gupta (50) is the 4th woman chief minister of Delhi after Sushma Swaraj (BJP), Sheila Dikshit (Congress) and Atishi (AAP). She is also the fourth BJP chief minister of Delhi after Madan Lal Khurana, Sahib Singh Verma and Sushma Swaraj.
Earlier on Wednesday, senior BJP leader Ravishankar Prasad announced that Gupta was chosen as the Leader of the House in the Delhi Assembly at the BJP legislature party meeting.
She later met Delhi LG V K Saxena and staked claim to form the government.
In her first response after being chosen as the CM, she expressed her commitment for the development of Delhi, pledging to work with honesty and dedication.
“I express my heartfelt gratitude to all the top leadership for entrusting me with the responsibility of the chief minister’s post. This trust and support has given me new energy and inspiration. I pledge to 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 wrote in a post on X.
BJP in the recently concluded Delhi elections secured a decisive mandate by winning 48 seats against AAP which managed 22 seats in the 70-member House. Whereas, the Congress drew a blank.