BJP's Delhi Cabinet Lineup: Six ministers to balance caste equations

The BJP has chosen Rekha Gupta as Delhi's Chief Minister, positioning her as the party's female face for the national capital. The party aims to balance caste representation in the cabinet by including Jaat, Sikh, Punjabi, Dalit, and Purvanchali leaders.

Gupta was unanimously elected as the BJP's legislative party leader during a meeting of MLAs at the party's Delhi unit office. Her name was proposed by Parvesh Singh Verma, Vijender Gupta, and Satish Upadhyay, and seconded by nine MLAs, including Ashish Sood.

She will be the fourth woman Chief Minister of Delhi after Sushma Swaraj, Sheila Dikshit and Atishi, and the second from the BJP. Upon taking the oath, she will be the second incumbent woman CM along with Mamata Banerjee. Also, she will be the only woman CM among the states being ruled by the BJP.


A first-time MLA and three-time councilor, Gupta began her political journey with ABVP and is a former president of the Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU)

According to sources, the new cabinet will include Parvesh Verma (Jaat), Manjinder Sirsa (Sikh), Ashish Sood (Punjabi), and Ravinder Indraj Singh (Dalit), with Pankaj Singh and Kapil Mishra representing Purvanchalis. In total, six ministers, along with Gupta, will take the oath on Thursday at Ramlila Maidan.

Earlier in the day, the BJP's parliamentary board met at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence. Elaborate arrangements have been made for the grand oath-taking ceremony, which will be attended by PM Modi, Union Ministers Rajnath Singh and Amit Shah, BJP chief JP Nadda, and Chief Ministers of all NDA-ruled states.

BJP allies and special invitees, including Jhuggi pradhans, auto-rickshaw and cab drivers, and gig workers, will also be present. Invitations have been extended to former Delhi CMs Arvind Kejriwal and Atishi, Congress Delhi unit chief Devender Yadav, and other leaders.

Outgoing Delhi Chief Minister Atishi and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal also congratulated Gupta. Atishi expressed hope that Gupta would fulfil the promises made by the BJP during the election campaign.