Rekha Gupta Named New Chief Minister Of Delhi; Parvesh Verma Picked New Deputy Chief Minister
New Delhi: Ending hours long surprise over the chief ministerial pick for Delhi, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has named Rekha Gupta as the new chief minister of the capital city.
New Delhi MLA Parvesh Verma, who defeated AAP national chief Arvind Kejriwal, has been picked as Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi.
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Rekha Gupta’s selection to the chief minister post marks the first time that the BJP has chosen a woman to head a state where it is in power since 2014.
The BJP returned to power in the national capital after 27 years, securing 48 seats in the 70-member House in the recently-held assembly election, ending decade-long AAP rule.
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Gupta will take oath on Thursday, February 20 at Ram Leela ground, and the event is expected to be attended by high-profile dignitaries, including Prime Minister Modi. Gupta’s name was declared at the BJP’s legislature party meeting on Wednesday evening.
Gupta won a spectacular victory from the Shalimar Bagh (North-West) constituency in the 2025 Delhi Assembly Election, securing 68,200 votes. A senior BJP leader with sound experience in both national and state politics, Gupta defeated AAP’s Bandana Kumari by a margin of 29,595 votes.
In a post on her social media platform X, Gupta expressed her gratitude to the saffron party leadership for ‘trusting and entrusting her with the responsibility of the post of Chief Minister.’ She pledged that she 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,” Rekha Gupta wrote.
Former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal congratulated the upcoming chief minister. “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,” the AAP leader wrote on X.
Who Is Rekha Gupta
A former president and general secretary of the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU), Rekha Gupta is a senior BJP leader who has worked as the general secretary of the BJP Mahila Morcha in Delhi. She has also been a member of the saffron party’s national executive committee.
Began her political career with Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) at Daulat Ram College, Delhi University, in 1992, Gupta has been navigating alongside the saffron party politics for years. As a people’s representative, she was first elected as a councillor from North Pitampura in 2007, and was re-elected in 2012 and later served as the mayor of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC).
Gupta has been credited with the launch of “Sumedha Yojana” and several other initiatives for women’s empowerment.
