Following over a week of conjecture, the Bharatiya Janata Party declared Rekha Gupta as the capital’s chief minister on Wednesday, February 19, 2025, after winning the 2025 Delhi Assembly election. Ms. Gupta, the Shalimar Bagh MLA-elect, will become the fourth female chief minister of the city, succeeding Atishi of the Aam Aadmi Party.
By a substantial majority of 29,595 votes, Ms. Gupta from Shalimar Bagh defeated Bandana Kumari of the AAP, who had occupied the seat since 2013, in this year’s election. In the 2025 election, she was one of five female candidates elected to office. The foundation of Ms. Gupta’s political career was laid during her time at Delhi University, when she presided over the Delhi University Students Union as its president and general secretary from 1996 to 1997.
Ms. Gupta, who is an ardent member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, has also seen political success in elections for Delhi Councillors. In 2007 and 2012, she was elected from Uttari Pitampura and North Pitampura, respectively. Ms. Gupta attended Delhi University’s Daulat Ram College after being born in Julana, Haryana. In 2022, she completed her LLB at Chaudhary Charan Singh University in Meerut.
