Rekha Gupta to be Delhi chief minister, oath ceremony today
Rekha Gupta will be the fourth woman chief minister of Delhi after Sushma Swaraj, Sheila Dikshit and Atishi.
Delhi's wait for its new chief minister ended today as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) announced Rekha Gupta as the leader of the House. Rekha Gupta will take oath on February 20 in a grand ceremony at the Ramlila Maidan.
She will be the fourth woman chief minister of Delhi after Sushma Swaraj, Sheila Dikshit and Atishi.
The decision was made at a meeting of all newly-elected BJP MLAs at the party headquarters in New Delhi on Wednesday evening.
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Gupta thanked the BJP leadership for reposing trust in her and pledged 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 (formerly Twitter).
BJP leaders have said that the entire cabinet will also be sworn in along with the chief minister on Thursday.
The ceremony is expected to begin at 11 am. Lt Governor VK Saxena will administer the oath of office to Rekha Gupta and the cabinet at 12.35 pm.
Grand swearing-in ceremony at Ramlila Maidan
A huge crowd is expected at the event and around 40 celebrities have been invited, people familiar with the matter said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Minister Amit Shah and chief ministers of several BJP-ruled states will also be present at Ramlila Maidan.
"Around 50,000 people, including party workers, RWA, sections of society and saints, will be invited. It will be a grand event in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Cabinet ministers will be present. It will last around 25-30 minutes," BJP MP Yogender Chandolia said.
He said the Ramlila Maidan was chosen as the venue for the ceremony as people from various walks of life want to be part of the event and the space at the Raj Niwas could not have accommodated them all.
Also read: 5 challenges for the new BJP government in Delhi
BJP's historic win
The BJP scored a historic victory in the assembly elections held earlier this month, winning 48 of the 70 assembly seats. The party returned to power in the national capital after 27 years.
The Aam Aadmi Party won 22 seats, while the Congress drew a blank.
Rekha Gupta defeated Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Bandana Kumari in the Shalimar Bagh seat by a margin of more than 29,000 votes in the February 5 Assembly polls.