New Delhi, Feb 20: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Rekha Gupta was sworn in as chief minister of Delhi on Thursday, with the saffron party holding a glittering ceremony at the iconic Ramila Maidan to celebrate the formation of its first government in Delhi in nearly three decades.
Top BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, health minister and party president Jagat Prakash Nadda, chief ministers and deputy chief ministers of BJP-led states, and top leaders from BJP allies in the party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) attended the swearing-in ceremony of Rekha Gupta. Delhi lieutenant governor Vinai Kumar Saxena administered the oath of office to Gupta, a first-time legislator who won the Capital’s Shalimar Bagh seat.
Besides the chief minister, six BJP MLAs took oath as cabinet ministers: ‘Giant killer’ Parvesh Verma, who defeated Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal; ex-AAP member Kapil Mishra, along with Ashish Sood, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Pankaj Kumar Singh, and Ravinder Indraj Singh.Rekha Gupta’s elevation makes her Delhi’s fourth woman chief minister, with AAP’s Atishi being her predecessor. BJP’s Sushma Swaraj and Sheila Dikshit of the Congress also held the coveted post.
Currently, West Bengal’s Mamata Banerjee is the only other female CM in the country.In the February 5 assembly election, the BJP won 48 seats in the 70-member assembly, while the AAP won 22 seats, down from 62 in 2020 and 67 in 2015.On the other hand, the Congress drew a blank for the third consecutive assembly poll in the Union territory. (Hindustan Times)
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