Two weeks after the election results were announced, the Indian state of Delhi has a new Chief Minister. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Rekha Gupta took oath as the Chief Minister of Delhi on Thursday.

50-year-old Rekha was administered the oath by Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinay Kumar Saxena in a ceremony held at Ramlila Maidan. Along with Chief Minister Rekha, Pravesh Verma, Ashish Sood, Rajouri Garden, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Ravindra Indraj Singh, Kapil Sharma and Pankaj Kumar Singh also took oath as ministers. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled states, Union Ministers, BJP leaders and others were present at the

ceremony. "Congratulations to Rekha Guptaji, she went from a normal family to campus politics, state organization, municipal administration to become MLA and Chief Minister," Modi wrote on social media. He said that he is confident that Rekha will work with full zeal for the development of Delhi.

The BJP, which has been ruling the government continuously since 2014, has formed the government in Delhi after 27 years. Rekha, who was elected to the Assembly for the first time, was chosen by the BJP as the Chief Minister of Delhi on Wednesday evening.

Rekha has become the only Chief Minister of a state with an NDA coalition government. India currently has two women Chief Ministers, Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal along with her. In the case of Delhi, she is the fourth woman Chief Minister. Sushma Swaraj, Sheila Dixit and Atishi Marlena have been three women Chief Ministers since the assembly elections were held in 1993.

After taking the oath, Rekha said that she will 'honestly and impartially discharge the responsibility of the Chief Minister'. This is a miracle in particular. This is a new inspiration and a new chapter. If I can become the chief minister, it means the way is open for all women,” she said after taking the oath. After being selected as the Chief Minister by the BJP, Rekha said that she would 'work with honesty, integrity and dedication for the welfare, empowerment and overall development of every citizen of Delhi'.

Rekha has been controversial at times due to her speech. In particular, he seems to have targeted former Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. Similarly, she raised questions about the loyalty of the Muslim community to the country.

Rekha vandalized the podium and mic during the election of the standing committee members of Delhi Municipal Corporation. She also abused the students of Jawaharlal Nehru University. After being elected as Chief Minister, his old posts and videos have started to be shared on social media.

Former journalist and Trinamool Congress MP Sagarika Ghosh criticized BJP along with Rekha over Gupta's old posts. There are disturbing posts on social media about the abuse and extremism of the new Chief Minister Rekha Gupta in the past. How far from the hardworking and kind Sheila Dixit and the outspoken MP Sushma Swaraj. But this is the 'new' BJP where abuse and abusive language is normalized,” Ghosh wrote.

Even in the speech after the oath, Rekha targeted Kejriwal and said, "Who is corrupt. He should account for every single rupee.' Kejriwal was arrested on March 21 by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on charges of irregularities in Delhi's liquor policy. He was released on bail on September 13. But he resigned as chief minister after the court barred him from returning to office and making decisions.

With the announcement of the election results of Delhi, Prime Minister Modi also said that there will be an investigation into Kejriwal's drinking case. The leaders of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) who entered politics saying they will change politics are drowned in corruption. The party born to fight against corruption has sunk into it today, the chief minister of this party has been jailed today on corruption charges,” Modi had said. Newly appointed Chief Minister Rekha's main challenge is to control Delhi's pollution and eradicate poverty. During the election campaign, Rekha's party, BJP, promised to improve government schools and provide free health care, free electricity and a monthly allowance of at least 2,500 rupees to poor women in Delhi. 

The Indian capital, New Delhi, has long been on the list of the world's most polluted cities. Delhi's air is 60 times more polluted than the standard set by the World Health Organization for a healthy city. Air pollution poses a big challenge in Delhi especially in winter. But in the election campaign, none of the major parties made solving the air pollution crisis their main issue. This time, both the BJP and AAP parties strongly raised issues such as free healthcare, improvement in education in government schools, allowances for women.

Decisions on issues like public order, police and land management are made by the lieutenant governor appointed by the central government, while the state has the right to make decisions on education, health and public services in Delhi. In the past, when the central and state governments belonged to different parties, there were frequent disputes over the use of rights. 

Who is Chief Minister Rekha Gupta?

Born on July 19, 1974 in Julna, Haryana, Rekha Gupta holds a bachelor's degree in management and an advanced degree in management and humanities from Delhi University. Similarly, Chaudhary has graduated in law from Charan Singh University in Meerut.

She started her political journey in 1992 at Delhi University's Daulat Ram College through Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student organization of the RSS. In 1996, she became the president of the Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU).

In 2003, Rekha became the secretary of the BJP Delhi Yuva Morcha and in 2004, she became the national secretary of the BJP Yuva Morcha. In 2009, she became the general secretary of the Mahila Morcha of BJP Delhi. She was elected councilor from North Pitampura in 2007 and 2012. She also served as Mayor of South Delhi Municipal Corporation. But in 2023, she was defeated in the mayoralty of Delhi Municipal Corporation. At that time, Apki lost to Shelly Oberoi.