Why BJP chose Rekha Gupta as Delhi CM – Firstpost

Delhi has got its new chief minister in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Rekha Gupta. The Shalimar Bagh MLA took oath as Delhi CM today (February 20) at a mega ceremony at the historic Ramlila Ground.

With this, the 50-year-old has become the fourth woman chief minister of the national capital. She is also the BJP’s fourth face to helm the Union Territory after Madan Lal Khurana, Sahib Singh Verma and Sushma Swaraj.

Gupta pipped names like Parvesh Verma, Vijender Gupta, Satish Upadhyay, Ashish Sood, and Shikha Roy to take over the top post. She is now the first BJP CM in Delhi after 27 years.

But why did the saffron party pick her?

Let’s understand.

Why BJP went with Rekha Gupta

Rekha Gupta, a first-time legislator from the BJP, defeated the three-time Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Bandana Kumari by over 29,000 votes from Shalimar Bagh in the Delhi elections.

Belonging to the Vaishya community, Gupta has long-lasting ties with the BJP’s ideological parent – the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). She joined the RSS students’ wing, Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), in 1992.

A BCom graduate from Delhi University’s Daulat Ram College, Gupta has experience in politics for 30 years. She was the Secretary of the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) in 1995 and became its president the following year.

After Sushma Swaraj – whose tenure lasted just 52 days, Gupta is the second woman picked by the BJP to rule Delhi. Her identity as a woman from the Bania community helped her case with the saffron party’s top brass.

The BJP is trying to send a direct message to the AAP with her selection. AAP chief and former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal is also from the same caste as Gupta. As Satish K Jha, a Political Science Professor at DU’s Aryabhatta College wrote for Indian Express, Kejriwal’s party continues to have hold over Purvanchali and Vaishya-Bania communities in Delhi as well as women voters.

BJP’s first-time MLA Rekha Gupta takes oath as the Chief Minister of Delhi. Lt Governor VK Saxena administers her oath of office.

With this, Delhi gets its fourth woman CM, after BJP’s Sushma Swaraj, Congress’ Sheila Dikshit, and AAP’s Atishi. pic.twitter.com/Eomgp9r1Rk

— ANI (@ANI) February 20, 2025

By picking
Gupta, the BJP is walking its talk on empowering women in electoral politics through more representation. Gupta has replaced AAP’s Atishi who served as the Delhi CM for just five months, taking over the post after Kejriwal resigned last September.

A BJP insider told The Hindu, “The previous Chief Minister was referred to as a ‘temporary CM’, and now the BJP has come with a strong face to counter that.”

Notably, Gupta is the only woman among the BJP’s 13 chief ministers across the country.

“In her [
Rekha Gupta], the BJP has found a good combination to replace Kejriwal, a Vaishya, and Atishi, a woman,” Jha wrote in his opinion piece for Indian Express.

With Gupta, the BJP has chosen a seasoned politician with a clean image. Unlike her other counterparts – Ramesh Bidhuri and Parvesh Verma, she has not hit the headlines for stoking controversies.

While Verma was among the frontrunners for the top job, his identity as the son of former Delhi CM Sahib Singh Verma went against him. If the BJP had chosen him, it would have come under fire from the opposition over dynasty politics.

Rekha Gupta fits the bill as she is a grassroots leader who rose through the ranks within the party.

Challenges before Delhi CM

Delhi CM Rekha Gupta has her hands full as she assumes office. Sources told News18 that the BJP’s top leadership and the Centre expect “visible results” on the streets of Delhi within the first 100 days of the formation of the new government.

The BJP made several promises in its manifesto ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections. Besides continuing the welfare schemes of the previous AAP government, the BJP also has its own promises to fulfil.

Gupta will have to set a proper mechanism to disburse Rs 2,500 to eligible women beneficiaries by March 8, a key election promise of the saffron party. Other commitments to women include providing financial assistance of Rs 21,000 and six nutritional kits to pregnant women.

The Delhi CM also has to ensure the implementation of the Centre’s Ayushman Bharat Scheme, which was not adopted by the AAP government.

Developing Delhi’s infrastructure, cleaning the Yamuna river and managing the city’s finances are some other challenges that Gupta will be facing in the coming days.

During her election campaigning, Gupta had vowed to make a ‘Viksit Delhi’ that a ‘Viksit Bharat’ deserves as its capital. Now, the people of the city will be expecting her to deliver on that promise.

With inputs from agencies