Rekha Gupta to be 9th chief minister of Delhi

Rekha Gupta, a first-time lawmaker from Shalimar Bagh in west Delhi who rose through the ranks from a student leader to a three-time councillor, will take oath as the next chief minister of Delhi on Thursday after a meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party's newly elected legislators picked the 50-year-old for the top job.

- Alok KN Mishra and Paras Singh

Gupta, along with senior leaders Ravi Shankar Prasad, Baijayant 'Jay' Panda, Virendra Sachdeva and others, reached Raj Niwas on Wednesday evening to meet lieutenant governor VK Saxena and stake claim to power. She is now set to take oath as Delhi's ninth chief minister on Thursday in a mega ceremony attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a phalanx of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) leaders. Six other ministers are also likely to be sworn in.

"I want to thank Modi ji, the BJP high command and the people of Delhi for giving us this opportunity after 27 years. A new chapter is beginning and they have given this responsibility to me. This is a proud moment for the women of this country... Half of the country's population thanks Modi ji... I pledge that I will every moment fulfiling this responsibility," Gupta posted on X.

The announcement of her name culminated 11 days of suspense after the BJP won an impressive victory in the February 5 assembly elections, trouncing the Aam Aadmi Party.

The ministers who are likely to take oath alongside Gupta on Thursday are lawmakers Parvesh Verma, Kapil Mishra, Ashish Sood, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Ravindra Raj and Pankaj Singh, according to people aware of the matter, though no formal announcement was made.

"I have full faith that you will work with dedication in the direction of the resolution taken by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make Delhi one of the top capitals of the world," Union home minister Amit Shah said soon after Gupta was anointed.