• Rekha Gupta is fourth woman Chief Minister of 
• Delhi Oath ceremony today at iconic 
• Ramlila Maidan Over 50,000 people including Prime Minister Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Chief Ministers of various BJP-ruled States to attend the programme. 

 

THE long suspense over ‘who will be the next Delhi Chief Minister’ ended on Wednesday evening with first-time MLA Rekha Gupta being chosen as the leader of the BJP legislature party, paving the way for her to take over the post. Gupta, the MLA from Shalimar Bagh, was chosen at a meeting of the BJP legislature party at the state party office at Pant Marg this evening, under the supervision of two Central Observers – former Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and BJP National Secretary Om Prakash Dhankhar.

 

As the meeting began to elect the BJP legislature party leader, there was intense speculation about a woman legislator taking over the mantle. Gupta will be the fourth woman Chief Minister of Delhi after Sushma Swaraj (BJP), Sheila Dikshit (Congress), and Atishi (AAP). Even before the announcement of her name, celebrations had broken out at the house of Gupta, a former Delhi University Students Union President and Municipal Councillor. The new Chief Minister will take oath at a grand swearing-in ceremony at the city’s iconic Ramlila Maidan at noon on Thursday. The new CM will be administered the oath of office and secrecy by Lt Governor Saxena, amidst the presence of top BJP brass and leaders of allied parties on the dais.

 

BJP MLA and Chief Minister-designate Rekha Gupta met Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena Wednesday evening and staked claim to form Government in the national capital. She was accompanied by State BJP observers Ravi Shankar Prasad and OP Dhankar along with city BJP president Virendra Sachdeva, and Delhi MPs including Bansuri Swaraj, Praveen Khandelwal and Kamaljeet Sehrawat. BJP national vice-president Baijayant Jay Panda was also present at the Raj Niwas. Gupta, 50, was chosen as the Leader of the House in the Delhi Assembly during a BJP legislature party meeting on Thursday. A former Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) President and civic body councilor, she is set to become the fourth woman Chief Minister of Delhi after Sushma Swaraj, Sheila Dikshit, and Atishi.

 

The new BJP Government, led by Gupta, will be sworn in at a grand ceremony at the Ramlila Maidan on Thursday afternoon in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other dignitaries. She will also be the fourth Chief Minister from the BJP in Delhi after Madan Lal Khurana, Sahib Singh Verma, and Sushma Swaraj. Notably, Gupta is going to be the only incumbent woman Chief Minister in any BJP-ruled States. In the recently concluded 70-member Delhi Assembly elections, the BJP secured a decisive victory with 48 seats, ending the AAP’s decade-long rule in the capital. take place from 11 am to 12.34 pm, with the Chief Minister’s swearing-in set for 12.05 pm. The event will be attended by several key political figures, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena, along with over 200 BJP MPs and MLAs, and invited religious leaders. The name of the new Chief Minister had remained a closely guarded secret till now, apparently because the process got delayed due to the PM’s trips to France and the United States.

 

The BJP, which had been out of power in Delhi since 1998, won a convincing victory in the 2025 Assembly elections, winning 48 seats in the 70-member Assembly, and reducing the AAP to 22. Though, it will be a mega show of strength for the BJP, one of the key highlights of the event would be the gathering of cab drivers, auto drivers and also slum dwellers, a significant voter class pursued and wooed by all parties in the run-up to Assembly elections, with long list of freebies and poll sops. Former AAP Chief Ministers Arvind Kejriwal and Atishi will also be invited to the event. Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva is likely to send an invite to AAP convenor Kejriwal and caretaker CM Atishi. The much-awaited swearing-in ceremony will see around 50,000 people including top political figures, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Chief Ministers of various BJP-ruled States attending the programme.

 

The BJP leaders and workers from other States who contributed to the party’s poll campaign in the capital are also likely to participate in the ceremony. The swearing-in ceremony will be preceded by a cultural programme featuring songs and music. Meanwhile, Delhi Police have also shared a traffic advisory on X, ahead of the swearing-in ceremony. “In view of the swearing-in ceremony of Hon’ble CM of Delhi on February 20, 2025 at Ram Leela Ground, New Delhi, special traffic arrangements have been made. Kindly follow the advisory,” it wrote in a post on X. More than 25,000 security personnel will be deployed in the central, north, and New Delhi areas of the city.