5 facts about Rekha Gupta, Delhi's new chief minister

Rekha Gupta will take oath as Delhi Chief Minister at the Ramlila Maidan on Thursday.

Rekha Gupta will be the next Delhi chief minister, BJP announced on Wednesday evening ending the suspense that had been building since the assembly election results were declared on February 8. Rekha Gupta will be the fourth woman to assume Delhi's top post after Sushma Swaraj, Sheila Dikshit and Atishi.

BJP MLA Rekha Gupta shows a victory sign after being named as the new CM of Delhi by the party. (Shrikant Singh/ANI)

The BJP leader will take oath as Delhi chief minister at the Ramlila Maidan on Thursday. The ceremony will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, home minister Amit Shah and chief ministers of several BJP-ruled states.

Here are 5 facts about Rekha Gupta

As a child, she was an active member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

Rekha Gupta made her entry into student politics in 1992 as a member of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) at Daulat Ram College. She was elected the President of the Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU) in 1996.

Although Gupta is a first-time MLA, she brings with her over a decade of political and administrative experience. Elected as a councillor in North Pitampura in 2007, she was re-elected in 2012 and went on to serve as the Mayor of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC). Throughout her tenure, Gupta worked to improve public infrastructure, such as libraries, parks, and swimming pools, and launched initiatives such as the "Sumedha Yojana" to aid economically disadvantaged female students pursuing higher education.

Since joining politics, Rekha Gupta has campaigned for women empowerment. She served as the national vice-president of the BJP Mahila Morcha and head of the Women Welfare and Child Development Committee, during which she led initiatives designed to support women and improve their access to education and healthcare.

Rekha Gupta scored a significant victory in the Delhi assembly elections against Aam Aadmi Party's Bandna Kumari. She won the Shalimar Bagh seat by a margin of over 29,000 votes.