THe ceremony marked the return of BJP to powerafter a gap of 27 years and Rekha Guptahas become the fourth woman Chief Minister of Delhi after Sheila Dikshit, Sushma Swaraj and Atishi.
NEW DELHI — First-time MLA Rekha Gupta took oath as the Delhi Chief Minister at the grand swearing-in ceremony at the city’s Ramlila Maidan on Thursday.
The ceremony which marked the return of BJP to power after a gap of 27 years ending the 10-year rule of the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), saw the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh along with many Chief Ministers from BJP-ruled states.
Delhi lieutenant governor Vinai Kumar Saxena administered the oath of office to Rekha Gupta as CM.
Rekha Gupta is the fourth woman Chief Minister of Delhi after Sheila Dikshit, Sushma Swaraj and Atishi.
She is also the fourth BJP chief minister in the capital, after Madan Lal Khurana, Sahib Singh Verma and Sushma Swaraj.
Rekha Gupta was chosen as the Leader of the House in the Delhi Assembly at the BJP legislature party meeting late on Wednesday evening. The 50-year-old leader then met Delhi Lt Governor VK Saxena and staked claim to form the government. Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena tthen invited Relha Gupt to form the new government.
Rekha Gupta’s Cabinet is likely to have six ministers. Along with Rekha Gupta, other BJP MLAs who took oath included Parvesh Singh Verma, Ravinder Indraj Singh, Ashish Sood, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Kapil Mishra and Pankaj Kumar Singh.
Parvesh Singh Verma emerged as the giant slayer in Delhi elections as he trounced former Delhi Chief Minister and AAP’s National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal by a margin of over 3,000 votes.
According to reports, Rekha Gupta’s Cabinet is likely to hold its first meeting at Delhi Secretariat around 3 pm and could implement the Mahila Samriddhi Yojna, the poll pledge under which women beneficiaries will get monthly payment of Rs 2,500.
The Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme is also likely to get the green signal from the new Delhi Cabinet. — IANS (Inputs added)
