New Delhi, February 20, 2025 – Rekha Gupta took oath as Delhi’s chief minister on Thursday, marking the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) return to power in the national capital after nearly 30 years. The grand swearing-in ceremony at Ramlila Maidan saw an impressive turnout of top BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
A Historic Political Shift
Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena administered the oath of office to Gupta, a first-time legislator from Shalimar Bagh. She became the fourth woman to hold the chief minister’s post in Delhi, following Atishi from AAP, BJP’s Sushma Swaraj, and Congress’s Sheila Dikshit. With her appointment, West Bengal’s Mamata Banerjee remains the only other female chief minister in the country.
Gupta’s swearing-in marks a significant political shift, as the BJP secured 48 seats in the 70-member Delhi Assembly. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which dominated the last two elections, managed only 22 seats—losing its earlier stronghold of 62 seats in 2020 and 67 in 2015. The Congress, once a dominant force, failed to win a single seat for the third consecutive election.
New Leadership in the Cabinet
Alongside Gupta, six BJP MLAs took the oath as cabinet ministers. Parvesh Verma, known as the “Giant Killer” for defeating AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, secured a key position. Former AAP leader Kapil Mishra also joined the cabinet, along with Ashish Sood, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Pankaj Kumar Singh, and Ravinder Indraj Singh.
With this victory, the BJP has broken AAP’s decade-long hold on Delhi, setting the stage for a new political era in the capital.
