She had won from Shalimar Bagh, defeating AAP candidate Bandna Kumari by over 29,000 votes in the February 5 assembly election.
She was chosen as the Leader of the House in the Delhi Assembly at the BJP legislature party meeting. The party has returned to power in Delhi after 26 years.
Gupta and her cabinet ministers will take the oath of office at the Ramlila Ground on Thursday. She will be the fourth woman chief minister of Delhi after Sushma Swaraj, Sheila Dikshit and Atishi.
Earlier, excitement filled the air at the Delhi BJP office as party workers eagerly awaited the announcement of the new chief minister. Hours before the decision, the office premises were abuzz with jubilant party cadre, dancing to drumbeats and shouting slogans like ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and ‘PM Modi, zindabad’.
Party workers expressed their readiness to accept any MLA as the CM, saying their celebrations were not limited to one particular candidate, but reflected their enthusiasm for the party’s success.
Devender Kohli, a party worker, said, “It doesn’t matter who becomes the CM as every MLA will ensure that the prime minister’s promises are kept.”
Smita Mohan, another party worker, said, “It would be great if the CM is a woman, but we will welcome any party leader at the top post.”
Rekha Gupta, named the Chief Minister of Delhi on Wednesday, might be a first-time MLA, but she has had a long innings in politics. By choosing her as the Delhi CM over other prominent faces, including giant-slayer Parvesh Verma, the BJP might be trying to score on multiple fronts.
Gupta, 41, won the Shalimar Bagh seat in the recent Delhi Assembly election with a margin of close to 30,000 votes. "Kaam hi Pehchaan" (my work is my identity), is a tagline the BJP leader uses on her website for her campaigns.
Gupta was one of the several Delhi BJP leaders who were seen as frontrunners for the CM's post.
Parvesh Verma, who defeated AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi BJP general secretary Ashish Sood, former Leader of Opposition Vijender Gupta, Satish Upadhyay and Jitendra Mahajan were some of the contenders.
Gupta graduated from Daulat Ram College and served as the President of DUSU in the 1996-97 session.
Rekha Gupta graduated from DU's Daulat Ram College and served as the President of DUSU in the 1996-97 session.
Rekha Gupta cut her teeth in politics with the Delhi University students' elections. She is a three-time councillor and former mayor of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC). She was also pitted by the BJP as the MCD mayoral candidate against AAP's Shelly Oberoi in 2022.
Rekha Gupta is the National Vice President of the BJP Mahila Morcha. She has previously served as the general secretary of the Delhi BJP.
Gupta graduated from Daulat Ram College and served as the President of DUSU in the 1996-97 session. She was first elected as a councilor from North Pitampura in 2007.
By making Rekha Gupta the Delhi CM, the BJP is trying to build on the legacy of women chief ministers, and showing AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal's stint as a contrast and aberration.
Delhi has seen a string of women chief ministers, including the 15-year rule of Congress's Sheila Dikshit.
The other women CMs of Delhi were AAP's Atishi and the BJP's Sushma Swaraj.
Atishi, the MLA from Kalkaji, is the outgoing CM, who was in the chair for five months. She was made to step in after Kejriwal quit as the CM in September 2024.
Sushma Swaraj was the Delhi CM from October 12, 1998, till December 3, 1998. She was brought in by the BJP leadership to firefight just ahead of the Assembly polls, which the party eventually lost. Surging prices of onion was one of the issues that cost the BJP the election.
The chronology of Delhi CMs would have 15 years of a woman CM and is likely to have another 5 years of a woman CM. Add to that the 5 months of Atishi's term, and Kejriwal's 10 years stands out more as a contrast.
Choosing Rekha Gupta as the CM also conforms to the BJP's priority for women in electoral politics and policies.
For the election to the 70-member Delhi Assembly, the BJP fielded nine candidates. Four of the women candidates won.
Women in Delhi voted more than men in the 2025 Assembly elections. Women voter turnout stood at 60.92%, while men were at 60.21%.
The AAP, which relied on female voters, lost badly, while the BJP won decisively, bagging 48 of the 70 seats.
In continuation of its focus on women as a voter base, the BJP made big promises in its Delhi election manifesto.
Just like the AAP, the BJP also announced women-centric schemes before the Delhi women.
The BJP, matching the AAP's Rs 2,100 cash dole, announced a monthly financial assistance of Rs 2,500 to women in Delhi under the Mahila Samridhi Yojana. Moreover, it also reaffirmed its commitment to ongoing welfare schemes for women, such as free bus travel.
The BJP has promised Rs 21,000 and six nutritional kits for every pregnant woman, along with free cervical, breast, and ovarian cancer screenings in all Delhi government hospitals under the Ayushman Bharat Yojana.
Unlike leaders like Delhi BJP leaders Ramesh Bidhuri and Parvesh Verma, Rekha Gupta hasn't seen any major controversy. She is also a fresh face because she hasn't contested the parliamentary election and is ideal as a fresh face to script a new chapter in Delhi's history.
Rekha Gupta is a political veteran who has risen through the party ranks and has been associated with the BJP for over three decades. In naming her the Delhi CM, not only has the BJP gone for a non-controversial politician, but a woman leader and a fresh face too.
