New Delhi:

BJP’s Rekha Gupta took oath as the new Chief Minister of Delhi along with her six cabinet colleagues today. Ms Gupta, a first-time MLA from Shalimar Bagh, was sworn in at a grand ceremony at the iconic Ramlila Maidan, 11 days after her party returned to power in the national capital after more than 26 years.

Rekha Gupta’s Net Worth

According to Rekha Gupta’s affidavit submitted to the Election Commission (EC) before the 2025 Delhi assembly elections, she declared her total income as Rs 6,92,050 in the financial year 2023-24.

Her moveable assets were worth Rs 1.25 crore, she said in the affidavit filed on January 15. She also had immovable assets worth Rs 2.3 crore.

The 50-year-old politician has loans worth Rs 48.44 lakh.

Her affidavit showed that she owns two residential properties, one of which is co-owned with her husband, Manish Gupta. 

She does not own any vehicle and has jewellery worth Rs 18 lakh.

Mr Gupta’s income in the financial year 2023-2024 was Rs 97,33,570. His movable assets are worth Rs 1.14 crore and immovable assets are worth Rs 30 lakh.

Rekha Gupta: Delhi’s Fourth Woman Chief Minister

Rekha Gupta, a former president of the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU), has become the fourth woman Chief Minister of Delhi after BJP’s Sushma Swaraj, Congress’ Sheila Dikshit, and Aam Aadmi Party’s Atishi. 

She defeated AAP candidate Bandana Kumari by over 29,000 votes from the Shalimar Bagh seat in the February 5 Assembly polls. Notably, Ms Gupta contested the Shalimar Bagh seat in both the 2015 and 2020 Delhi elections but was defeated by AAP’s Bandana Kumari in both years. 

Born on July 19, 1974, in Nandgarh village of Jind district in Haryana, Ms Gupta’s father served as a bank officer. In 1976, her family moved to neighbouring Delhi.

As a student at Delhi University, she joined the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). 

Her active involvement in student politics led to her election as the President of Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) for the 1996-1997 term. She also served as the Secretary of Dyal Singh College and was deeply engaged in student activism, which propelled her further into public life.

Her political career with the BJP began in the early 2000s. She joined the party’s youth wing, the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), and held the role of secretary in the Delhi unit. 

She was then appointed the National Secretary of BJYM from 2004 to 2006. 

In 2007, she was elected as a councillor in the MCD elections, representing the North Pitampura constituency. 

She went on to serve as the President of the Women’s Welfare and Child Development Committee in MCD from 2007 to 2009.

New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi touched BJP leader Ravinder Singh Negi’s feet three times after the latter made a similar gesture during a public rally in Delhi this week.

The heartfelt moment came at a poll rally in North-East Delhi on Wednesday, days ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections in the national capital.

A video that has gone viral shows Mr Negi, the BJP’s Patparganj candidate, approaching PM Modi and attempting to touch his feet. PM Modi, however, immediately stops him and reciprocates by touching his feet thrice.

#ElectionsWithNDTV | PM Modi touches BJP leader Ravinder Negi’s feet 3 times. He is also contesting the upcoming #DelhiElections from Patparganj pic.twitter.com/sxGXYn1Hka

— NDTV (@ndtv) January 30, 2025

After Mr Negi, BJP’s Vishwas Nagar candidate, Om Prakash Sharma, also bowed to touch PM Modi’s feet but was stopped midway.

This was not the first time that the Prime Minister has reciprocated and touched the feet of those who touched his at public events.

Ravinder Singh Negi up against Avadh Ojha

Ravinder Singh Negi is up against civil aspirant coach Avadh Ojha, who is contesting on an AAP ticket from the Patparganj seat, and Congress candidate Anil Chaudhary.

The seat was earlier won thrice by AAP leader and former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, who is contesting from Jangpura in the 2025 Delhi assembly elections.

Mr Negi is currently the BJP councillor from the Vinod Nagar (East) constituency.

PM Modi attacks AAP, Congress

During the rally, Prime Minister Modi attacked the AAP and the Congress.

Thanking the massive gathering, he said, “This sight reflects the mood of Delhi and the message of its mandate. Delhi is changing. Fake promises will no longer work. The loot and lies will not continue. The people of Delhi want a double-engine BJP government that ensures both the welfare of the poor and the development of the city.”

He promised to bring relief to Delhi’s residents by addressing key issues.

“Delhi wants a government that builds homes for the poor, modernises the city, ensures water supply to every household, and frees them from tanker mafias. That is why the entire Delhi is today saying, ‘AAPda jaayegi, BJP aayegi’ (AAPda will go, BJP will come),” he said in a dig at former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP.

Delhi will go to assembly polls on February 5 and the results will be announced on February 8.

New Delhi:

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday launched the third part of the BJP manifesto for the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections, scheduled for February 5.

The party has announced several promises, ranging from granting ownership rights to people in refugee colonies to reopening 13,000 sealed shops in the national capital.

Addressing the event, Amit Shah said, “Modi ji has announced the granting of ownership rights to more than 1,700 unauthorized colonies. Previously, these colonies did not have permission for construction, buying, or selling. Now, by granting them full ownership rights and aligning with the Ministry of Housing’s regulations and Delhi’s by-laws, we will give them the right to construct and sell.”

“13,000 shops in Delhi are sealed, and we have worked with lawyers to find a legal path to reopen them. We will create a judicial authority and reopen these shops within six months to resume operations. Refugee colonies that have been established since 1947, such as Rajendra Nagar, Lajpat Nagar, and Kingsway Camp, currently have people on lease; they cannot sell or buy the land. We will grant ownership rights to all these refugees who have land on lease in these colonies in the first Cabinet meeting,” Shah added.

The Home Minister also announced the establishment of a Workers Welfare Board in Delhi, which will ensure that all workers have life insurance coverage of up to 10 lakh and accident insurance of up to 5 lakh.

“We will apply the same formula for textile workers. We will provide Rs 10,000 as assistance to workers, and for registered workers, we will offer loans up to 3 lakh to enhance skills and businesses,” he said.

He further highlighted that the BJP would provide 50,000 government jobs to the youth of Delhi without any corruption.

“And by creating 20 lakh self-employment opportunities, we will help the youth find employment. Through an investment of 20,000 crore, we will develop an integrated public transport network and convert 13,000 buses into electric buses, making Delhi a 100% electric bus city under the BJP government,” he said.

He also underlined that to promote tourism, they will collaborate with the Uttar Pradesh and Haryana governments to create a Mahabharata corridor.

“We will develop the Yamuna Riverfront, similar to the Sabarmati Riverfront. I would like to invite Kejriwal to join us after 3 years of our government to take a dip in the Yamuna with his family. We will end manual scavenging 100% and eliminate this inhumane practice completely,” he said,

The Union Home Minister also recalled the BJP’s promises from its earlier two manifestos. 

He said, “For every pregnant woman, we will provide financial assistance of Rs 12,000 and give six nutrition kits. LPG cylinders will be available for Rs 500, and BJP will provide one free LPG cylinder to every sister on Holi and Diwali. Under the Ayushman Bharat scheme, we will provide free treatment up to 5 lakh in the first Cabinet meeting to every poor person. Any treatment beyond 5 lakh will be covered by the Delhi government, ensuring that every poor person in Delhi receives treatment up to 10 lakh at no cost, even at major hospitals.”

He also mentioned that the BJP government would increase the pension for senior citizens from Rs 2,000 to Rs 2,500 per month.

“For women’s welfare, we will increase the pension for widows and destitute women from 2,500 Rs to 3,000 Rs per month. We will establish Atal Canteens in JJ Clusters, providing nutritious meals for just Rs 5,” he said.

“We will give a corruption-free and transparent state government. Scheduled caste and scheduled tribe students will receive 1,000 Rs per month under the Ambedkar Stipend Scheme. Auto and taxi drivers will receive 10 lakh life insurance and 5 lakh accident insurance. A welfare board will be set up for domestic workers, and we will provide six months of paid maternity leave to mothers. We will double the PM Swanidhi scheme and provide financial aid to street vendors,” he said.

The Delhi assembly elections will take place in a single phase on February 5. The counting of votes will happen on February 8.

A three-way contest is expected in Delhi between the ruling AAP, BJP, and Congress. AAP dominated the 2020 assembly elections by winning 62 out of 70 seats, while the BJP secured eight seats. Congress, which was in power for 15 consecutive years in Delhi, has suffered setbacks in the last two assembly elections and has failed to win any seat.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

The vehicle, which was being driven by Vaseem Malik (24), a resident of Sangam Vihar.

New Delhi:

Former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Ramesh Bidhuri on Sunday dismissed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)’s claims that the opposition party is likely to consider projecting him as the chief ministerial face in next month’s Delhi assembly elections, saying he is not a contender for the top post.

Mr Bidhuri, who is contesting the polls from Kalkaji seat against Chief Minister Atishi, made the clarification amid Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) National Convener Arvind Kejriwal’s allegations that the BJP intends to field the former MP as the chief ministerial candidate in a day or two. The opposition party has, however, repeatedly dismissed the claim.

In a statement on Sunday, Mr Bidhuri said: “I am as dedicated to the people as I am to my party. Talks about the chief minister’s role for me are totally baseless. I will continue to work timelessly as your servant.” 

The BJP leader also said he is a “loyal worker” of the party. “The party has constantly blessed me and expressed trust in me. While I was holding important responsibilities for twenty-five years, the party made me an MP twice and an MLA thrice and has given me the opportunity to come to your door for the fourth time,” he said, referring to his term as MP from 2014 to 2019 and 2019 to 2024, and election as MLA in 2003, 2008 and 2013. 

The former MP also hit out at Mr Kejriwal for his “misleading propaganda” against him. “I want to make it clear that I am not a claimant for any post,” he said. 

“With your blessings, I am dedicated to the service of the people… I want to give you more and more of the country,” he added. 

At a press conference on Saturday, Mr Kejriwal claimed that he has come to know from “reliable sources” that the BJP will announce Mr Bidhuri as the chief ministerial candidate in the coming days. He also challenged Bidhuri to a public debate to let the people of Delhi decide who is better equipped to lead.

“Once Bidhuri’s candidacy is officially announced, I propose that to strengthen democracy, there should be a public debate between the AAP’s candidate and the BJP’s candidate, Ramesh Bidhuri, in front of the people of Delhi, the nation, and the media,” the former Chief Minister said.

Mr Bidhuri alleged that by raking up his name, Mr Kejriwal has accepted that the BJP will form the government in the next assembly term. “He has widely accepted his defeat because it is well known that the people of Delhi are widely angry with him. The people want to get rid of the liquor scam, education scam, health scam, Sheeshmahal scam, broken roads, dirty drinking water etc,” he said, referring to the excise policy case, an alleged scam in the Delhi education department, the alleged Mohalla clinic scam and alleged irregularities in the construction of the bungalow that Mr Kejriwal used as chief minister.

Ms Atishi, who is seeking reelection from Kalkaji seat, also claimed on Friday that the BJP was going to name Mr Bidhuri as its chief ministerial face and criticised the party for picking a leader who “hurls the most abuses”.

The BJP dismissed the claims as a “baseless rumour” with Union Home Minister Amit Shah accusing Mr Kejriwal of spreading canard for political mileage. “Can Kejriwal decide the BJP’s chief ministerial face? Who is he to make such claims?” he said while addressing “Jhuggi Basti Pradhan Sammelan” in the Capital on Saturday. 

Mr Shah also accused Mr Kejriwal of attempting to manipulate public perception, asserting that the people of Delhi understood his tactics. “Lies, betrayal and going back on promises” are the qualities of Kejriwal, he said. 

Mr Bidhuri’s recent remarks about Ms Atishi and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi had triggered a controversy. 

The BJP leader had made derogatory comments against Ms Atishi’s father.

Besides, he said that would make roads in Kalkaji smooth like “Priyanka Gandhi’s cheeks”. The Congress termed the remark as an “insult to women”.

Mr Bidhuri later expressed regret following an uproar.

The 70-member Delhi Assembly will go to polls on February 5, and the counting of votes will be held on February 8. 

The AAP, which won 67 seats in the 2015 polls and 62 in the 2020 polls, is eyeing another consecutive term in the Capital. 

The BJP won three seats in 2015 and eight in 2020 while the Congress failed to open its account on both the occasions.