The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ended the suspense surrounding the new Delhi Chief Minister and announced party MLA Rekha Gupta’s name for the top post. First-time MLA Gupta, 50, was chosen as the Leader of the House in the Delhi Assembly at the BJP legislature party meeting late evening on Wednesday in the national capital. This comes 11 days after the BJP returned to power after over 26 years, ending the 10-year rule of the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP.
In the recently concluded Delhi Assembly polls, the saffron party bagged 48 seats, and AAP was reduced to 22 seats. The Congress drew a blank in Delhi for the third straight time. Gupta, accompanied by Prasad, Dhankar, and Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva, among others, met Lt. Governor VK Saxena and staked a claim to form the government.
With curtains down on the new CM’s name, all eyes are set on what Delhi’s new cabinet will look like. Here are a few likely names to get a ministerial berth in the Rekha Gupta-led cabinet.
Parvesh Verma: One of the key BJP leaders in the national capital, Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma, whose name was doing the round as the saffron party’s choice for the CM, can hold crucial portfolios in the Rekha Gupta-led Delhi cabinet. BJP’s Jat face in the capital defeated Aam Aadmi Party chief and former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal from the New Delhi seat in the recently concluded Delhi Assembly elections.
Kapil Mishra: A firebrand BJP leader in Delhi, Kapil Mishra joined the saffron camp in 2019. Following his speech in February 2020, he garnered attention after he was blamed for triggering communal violence during the clashes between supporters and opponents of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA).
In the recently concluded Delhi polls, Mishra, former AAP leader, won from the Karawal Nagar Vidhan Sabha constituency.
Ashish Sood: Another key leader of the BJP in Delhi, Ashish Sood is the party’s Punjabi face who emerged victorious from the Janakpur Assembly seat, defeating AAP’s Parveen Kumar. Sood is very much in the race for a ministerial post in the Delhi cabinet as he brings experience to the table.
He has held various key positions within the party in the past, including serving as a councillor, Leader of the House in the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), and more recently as the saffron party’s Goa in-charge and co-in-charge for Jammu and Kashmir.
Arvinder Singh Lovely: Arvinder Singh Lovely, the BJP leader who bagged the Gandhi Nagar constituency defeating AAP’s Naveen Chaudhary, is another key name who is likely to get a ministerial berth in the Delhi cabinet. Former Delhi Congress president Lovely jumped ships to join the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2017. At the time, former Delhi CM late Sheila Dikshit had accused him of betraying the grand old party.
However, after a brief stint with the BJP, Lovely returned to the Congress in February 2018, met Rahul Gandhi, and regretted leaving the party. In 2019, Lovely contested the Lok Sabha elections from East Delhi, facing off against BJP’s Gautam Gambhir and AAP’s Atishi. He lost by a margin of over 3.9 lakh votes. Days before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, he rejoined the saffron party. Born in 1968, Lovely held critical portfolios in Sheila Dikshit’s government, including urban development, revenue, education, and transport.
Manjinder Singh Sirsa: Manjinder Singh Sirsa, who joined the BJP in 2021, was a prominent figure in the Shiromani Akali Dal. He is an MLA representing Rajouri Garden. Sirsa garnered limelight during the farmers’ protest, where he was often seen arranging langars for the protesters camping on Delhi’s roads against the farm laws.
Pankaj Singh: A key Purvanchali leader, Pankaj Kumar Singh secured victory in the Vikaspuri (South-West) constituency after defeating Mahinder Yadav of the AAP. He is a qualified dentist and is actively involved in social services.
Besides these key leaders in the saffron camp, there are other faces, including Karnail Singh. Mohan Singh Bisht and Harish Khurana are likely to find a place in the Delhi cabinet and take oath in Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan. The swearing-in ceremony of the new Delhi CM is set to take place today. More than 25,000 security personnel will be deployed in the central, north, and New Delhi areas of the city for the ceremony.