BJP leader Rekha Gupta to be next Delhi CM

Bharatiya Janata Party leader Rekha Gupta was named as the next chief minister of Delhi on Wednesday.

Gupta, the first chief minister of the national capital from the Hindutva party in 26 years, will be sworn-in on Thursday.

She had won the Shalimar Bagh seat against the Aam Aadmi Party’s Bandana Kumari and Congress’s Parveen Kumar Jain by a margin of 29,595 votes.

After her appointment, she thanked the party leadership for “trusting her with the responsibility”.

“This trust and support of yours has given me new energy and inspiration,” said Gupta in a social media post. “I pledge that I will work with full honesty, integrity and dedication for the welfare, empowerment and overall development of every citizen of Delhi. I am fully committed to this important opportunity to take Delhi to new heights.”

The BJP defeated the Aam Aadmi Party in the polls on February 8. Polling was held on February 5.

While the Hindutva party won in 48 constituencies, the Aam Aadmi Party bagged 21 seats. The halfway mark to gain a majority in the 70-member Assembly is 36 seats.

The BJP won 45.8% of the votes ahead of the AAP’s 43.8% vote share. While the Congress failed to win a seat, its vote share increased to 6.4% from 4.3% five years ago.

Shortly after losing the election,…

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