Fresh Face for a Big Agenda

It took the Bharatiya Janata Party 27 years to come back to power in national capital Delhi, so they could be forgiven for taking their time—11 days to be exact—to zero in on their chief ministerial face. The party high command's choice followed its recent template of picking near-obscure or first-time legislators to lead state governments. Rookie MLA Rekha

- By Avishek G. Dastidar

Gupta will be the BJP's first woman CM in Delhi (after the late Sushma Swaraj), beating out such heavyweights as Parvesh Verma who took down Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal.

Unlike the stumbling blocks that the previous AAP government faced, she will have the full backing of the Centre. With funds to match—Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already promised Delhiites a "world-class capital in five years". But then the challenges are also huge. Rekha will also have a tough Opposition to deal with. AAP has 22 MLAs in the 70-member House, including ex-CM Atishi, and they will look to make the numbers count. The new CM will have to hit the ground running. A lowdown on the big issues that will need immediate attention:

Welfare challenges: Welfare programmes spelt out in the pre-poll promises hold the key. The BJP has committed to a monthly allowance of Rs 2,500 to eligible women and a one-time payment of Rs 21,000 to pregnant women. The new CM has said she will release the first payment for women by March 8, which is just two weeks away. This will be a test of both administration and finances. Locating the rightful beneficiaries across a city as large as Delhi poses a big challenge; the freebie entails a payout of Rs 11,500 crore annually, and will call for careful management.