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Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta keeps finance, Parvesh Verma gets water

by Trans World Features | @twfindia 20 Feb 2025, 11:56 am

New Delhi : The new Delhi government met for its first cabinet meeting on Thursday after the oath-taking ceremony of Chief Minister Rekha Gupta in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The ministries have been divided up between the Chief Minister and her six cabinet colleagues.

Chief Minister Rekha Gupta will be handling at least 10 portfolios including finance and the key portfolio of water has gone to Parvesh Verma, the son of former Chief Minister Saheb Singh Verma.

He will also head the Irrigation and Flood Control Department, which is tasked with the cleanup of the Yamuna River.

Meanwhile, Kapil Mishra has got the law department.

While earlier there were expectations that CM Rekha Gupta would be handling home, that department has gone Ashish Sood, who will be handling seven departments.

The Chief Minister's other responsibilities include Revenue, General Administration, Information and Public Relations, Vigilance, Land and Building, and Women and Child Development portfolios.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s first-time MLA Rekha Gupta earlier in the day took oath as the new Delhi Chief Minister, almost two weeks after her party swept the assembly elections and returned to power in the national capital after 27 years.

Gupta and five other ministers including 'giant killer' Parvesh Verma were administered the oath by Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena in front of a sea of supporters at the Ramlila Maidan in the city.

Verma defeated AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal in the New Delhi constituency by a few thousand votes in a major setback to the ousted party which was born out of an anti-corruption movement.

Gupta, who won from Shalimar Bagh defeating three-time Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Bandana Kumari in the February 5 elections, became the fourth woman CM of Delhi.

Former External Affairs Minister and BJP stalwart Sushma Swaraj, Congress giant leader Sheila Dikshit and AAP's Atishi had remained the women CMs of the city in the past.

Gupta succeeded Atishi, who took charge of the top post last year replacing AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal, who stepped down in the backdrop of his alleged involvement in the liquor scam case.

Gupta is now the second woman CM in India alongside West Bengal's Mamata Banerjee.