Strategic Move for Women and Vaishya Votes
BJP’s Big Win in Delhi: How Rekha Gupta’s Leadership Sealed the Victory
50-year-old Rekha Gupta Jindal is set to become the ninth Chief Minister of Delhi. On Wednesday, she was elected as the leader of the BJP legislative party. She currently represents the Shalimar Bagh constituency in the Delhi Assembly.
Rekha defeated AAP’s Vandana Kumari by a margin of 29,595 votes. Closely associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and BJP, Rekha has served as the General Secretary of Delhi BJP and the National Vice President of BJP Mahila Morcha.
The RSS proposed Rekha Gupta’s name as Delhi’s fourth Chief Minister, and the party approved it. Rekha began her political career in student politics and had lost two Assembly elections before. However, there are three key reasons why she was chosen as the Chief Minister.
First Reason – Like Kejriwal, Rekha Belongs to the Vaishya Community
Rekha, like former CM Arvind Kejriwal, belongs to the Vaishya community. In Delhi, the Vaishya community holds significant influence in business sectors and is considered a core voter base of the BJP. This played a major role in her selection. Alongside Rekha Gupta, the names of BJP leaders Vijender Gupta and Jitendra Mahajan were also in the race for the CM post.
Second Reason – Women’s Votes
In the Delhi Assembly elections, BJP won a total of 48 seats with 45.56% of the vote share. A major reason for this success was the BJP’s extensive focus on women-centric schemes.
Five Major Announcements for Women:
Monthly financial assistance of ₹2500, expected to start from March 8, International Women’s Day.
Announcement of a welfare board for domestic workers in Delhi.
₹500 subsidy on LPG cylinders for poor women, with one free cylinder each on Holi and Diwali.
₹21,000 and six nutrition kits for pregnant women under the Matru Suraksha Vandana Yojana.
Free bus travel facilities for women.
Third Reason – A Woman CM Was Needed
Delhi has previously had three women Chief Ministers — Sheila Dikshit, Sushma Swaraj, and Atishi. By appointing Rekha as the CM, BJP aims to strengthen its appeal among women voters. Rekha Gupta is said to be the RSS’s preferred choice.
According to sources, before the legislative party meeting, the RSS proposed her name, which BJP accepted. Prominent BJP leaders, including PM Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, and Haryana CM Nayab Saini, campaigned extensively for her.
Rekha’s Family and Education
Rekha’s family hails from Julana in Haryana. Her grandfather, Mani Ram, and her family lived there before her father, Jai Bhagwan, became a manager at Bank of India in 1972-73. After being posted to Delhi, the family shifted to the capital.
Rekha completed her schooling in Delhi and earned her B.Com degree from Daulat Ram College. She later pursued LLB and practiced law for a brief period.
Marriage and Political Journey
In 1998, Rekha married Manish Gupta, a spare parts businessman. Rekha has contested two Assembly elections before. In her first attempt, she lost by 11,000 votes, and in her most recent attempt, she lost to AAP’s Vandana by 4,500 votes. Now, she has turned her political fortunes around to become Delhi’s Chief Minister.
