Rekha Gupta, a first-time BJP legislator, was on Thursday sworn in as the Chief Minister of Delhi as the head of a seven-member ministry, marking the return of the saffron party to power in the national capital after 27 years.

The last BJP government in Delhi was from 1993 to 1998.

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Gupta is the ninth chief minister of Delhi, and was sworn-in at a grand ceremony at Ramlila Maidan. She is also the fourth BJP chief minister in the national capital, after Madan Lal Khurana, Sahib Singh Verma and Sushma Swaraj.

Gupta and her six Cabinet colleagues were administered the oath of office and secrecy by Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena at a grand ceremony at the historic Ram Lila Maidan, attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, top BJP leaders and NDA chief ministers.

The other six ministers are: Mr Parvesh Verma, Ashish Sood, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Ravinder Indraj Singh, Kapil Mishra, and Pankaj Kumar Singh.

Gupta, the 50-year-old legislator from Shalimar Bagh, is the fourth woman Chief Minister of Delhi. Sushma Swaraj (BJP), Sheila Dikshit (Congress), and Atishi (AAP) are the other women who have led the governments in Delhi.

Gupta, who represents the strong Bania community in the national capital, was elected from the Shalimar Bagh Constituency in the recently held assembly elections. Her selection to the top post reflects the party leadership’s commitment to women empowerment. It is also seen as another move by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to spring surprises when it comes to naming party chief ministers.

Shortly after the swearing-in ceremony, the PM wrote on ‘X’, ”Congratulations to Smt. Rekha Gupta Ji on taking oath as Delhi’s Chief Minister. She has risen from the grassroots, being active in campus politics, state organisation, municipal administration, and now MLA as well as Chief Minister. I am confident she will work for Delhi’s development with full vigour. My best wishes to her for a fruitful tenure.”

The Prime Minister also congratulated the six new ministers in another social media post by writing, ”Congratulations to Shri Parvesh Sahib Singh Ji, Shri Ashish Sood Ji, Sardar Manjinder Singh Sirsa Ji, Shri Ravinder Indraj Singh Ji, Shri Kapil Mishra Ji and Shri Pankaj Kumar Singh Ji on taking oath as Ministers in the Delhi Government. This team beautifully mixes vigour and experience, and will surely ensure good governance for Delhi. Best wishes to them.”

Hours after taking the oath as Chief Minister of Delhi, BJP leader Rekha Gupta formally assumed charge of her office in the Secretariat here.

Addressing media persons soon after assuming office at the Delhi Secretariat, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said her government will not waste even a single day and put in persistent efforts to achieve the dream of ‘Viksit Delhi’.

“We will continuously work towards the mission of Viksit Delhi, and we will fulfil all the promises that we have made,” she said.

Later in the evening, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta attended the evening Aarti on the banks of the Yamuna here.

She was joined by newly inducted cabinet ministers and the Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva at the Vasudev Ghat.

Pollution in the Yamuna was a key issue during the Delhi Assembly elections, with political parties targeting each other over pollution, encroachments, and flood management.

The BJP had attacked AAP and accused it of failing to deliver on promises of cleaning the Yamuna. Apart from this, the BJP has mentioned cleaning Yamuna as one of the top priorities in its manifesto.

After visiting Vasudev Ghat, Yamuna Bazaar in the evening, Rekha Gupta chaired the first meeting of her cabinet at the Secretariat.

Ending the suspense over the next Delhi Chief Minister, Gupta was on Wednesday chosen as the leader of the BJP legislature party, paving the way for her to take over the top post in the grand ceremony.

Gupta, who is an advocate by profession, thanked the top BJP leadership for reposing confidence in her.

The saffron party registered a landslide victory in the February 5 Delhi assembly elections, the results of which were declared on February 8, winning a two-thirds majority bagging 48 seats in the 70-member assembly. In the recently held Assembly polls, the AAP suffered a rout with 22 seats while the Congress failed to score for the third consecutive time.