In a departure from the tenure of the Aam Aadmi Party government led by Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta will head 10 departments — Finance, Services, Revenue, Women and Child, and Administrative Reforms Departments, among others. Kejriwal was attacked by the BJP for not heading any department for most of his tenure and was termed a Chief Minister without a portfolio. He did, however, head the Delhi Jal Board for a short while during his tenure between 2015 and 2020. Among the BJP’s biggest promises is the scheme to give women Rs 2,500 per month, which will be executed by the Women and Child Department.
Gupta is also heading the Vigilance department, which, over the past five years, opened several inquiries against AAP ministers. The BJP has promised to set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to look into allegations of corruption in the government over the past 10 years.
Two significant portfolios – PWD and water have gone to Parvesh Sahib Singh. The responsibility of the two departments also puts him at the centre of fulfilling major promises made by the BJP in the run-up to the polls. One was to fix the road infrastructure in the city. According to sources, directions to prepare a plan to repair arterial roads were given soon after the BJP won, even though the Council of Ministers had not been appointed.
Part of the promise to clean the Yamuna and the riverfront will also be Sahib Singh’s responsibility as water minister. While work related to the Yamuna falls mostly under the Delhi Development Authority, projects such as trapping untreated sewage before it enters the river – a key component of cleaning the river – come under the water department and the Delhi Jal Board. He will also be responsible for ensuring that the problems of residents who have been complaining of getting dirty water at home are addressed.
Key departments such as education and power, which were at the centre of AAP’s politics and policies, have been given to Ashish Sood. He will also head the Home department.
Vikaspuri MLA Pankaj Kumar Singh, meanwhile, has been allotted the Health & Family Welfare and Transport departments. An assessment has already been ordered by officials into Delhi’s Mohalla Clinics, which will soon be renamed Arogya Mandir, sources said.
Ravinder Indraj Singh, the only Dalit face in the Cabinet, has been entrusted with the Social Welfare, SC & ST Welfare, Cooperative Societies and Elections departments. Sources said he will be looking at schemes that were started for Dalit students by AAP but either did not take off or were non-functional to assess the need for revamp.
The Sikh face in the Cabinet, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, has been given the Forest & Environment and Industries departments. This will put him in the spotlight, especially in the winter months, when Delhi’s pollution touches toxic levels. The Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), which checks Yamuna’s pollution levels and issues challans and fines to industries for failing to meet emission norms, will also come under Sirsa.
The only second-time minister in the cabinet, Kapil Mishra, will once again shoulder the responsibility of the Art & Culture, Language and Tourism departments, alongside heading the key departments such as Law & Justice, Labour and Employment.
The 50-year-old Rekha Gupta was born in Nandgarh village in Haryana’s Jind district and was only two when her parents moved to Delhi. Her father used to work for the State Bank of India.
Gupta joined the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the students’ organisation affiliated to the RSS, starting her political journey at Daulat Ram College in 1993. She served as the general general secretary of the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) from 1995 to 1996 and was its president from 1996 to 1997. She holds a degree in commerce and a Master’s degree in management and arts from the University of Delhi.
In 2002, Gupta joined the BJP and went on to become the secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha’s Delhi unit. She was subsequently promoted to the outfit’s national secretary, remaining in the position till 2005. Gupta has also served as the general secretary of the Delhi BJP’s Mahila Morcha, the national vice-chairperson of the BJP Mahila Morcha, the national in-charge of Uttar Pradesh Mahila Morcha, and has been a member of the BJP National Executive.
Gupta made her foray into electoral politics in 2007, winning the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections from the North Pitampura ward and being elected chairperson of the women’s welfare and child development committee. Five years later, she was re-elected from the same ward and served as vice-chairperson of the standing committee, the MCD’s top financial decision-making body. From 2012 to 2013, she also served as the New Delhi Municipal Council’s (NDMC) education secretary chairperson.
Gupta contested her first Assembly election in 2015 when she lost to the AAP’s Bandana Kumari by 10,978 votes. Five years later, she again lost to Kumari, but this time, she managed to reduce the margin to 3,440 votes. In 2022, Gupta again contested the MCD polls and won from the Shalimar Bagh ward. She was the BJP’s pick for the mayoral polls against the AAP’s Shelly Oberoi but lost.
The BJP leader, in the meantime, completed her Bachelor of Laws degree from a law college in Ghaziabad. In the Assembly elections this year, she was again given the opportunity against Bandana Kumari. This time, she was third-time lucky, winning the contest by 29,595 votes.
The CM-designate has two children. While her daughter is pursuing her post-graduation in Australia, her son is completing his engineering degree in Vellore, Tamil Nadu. “She has been politically active for several years. She was associated with the ABVP and with the RSS. She has vast experience and is sensitive to people’s complaints,” said MCD Leader of the Opposition, Raja Iqbal Singh.
