New Delhi: Barely a few months before the Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections, Rekha Gupta, then a municipal councillor, was made the election in-charge of the party’s Mahila Morcha wing.
The 2023 assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan were crucial for the Mahila Morcha because of concerns about a possible dip in support from women for the BJP in the Karnataka assembly election in May.
An India Today-Axis My India exit poll had found that 40 percent of women voters preferred the Congress, compared to 34 percent who preferred the BJP.
The Mahila Morcha and Gupta had their task cut out and they immediately began campaigning across the state to raise awareness among women about welfare schemes being implemented by the Narendra Modi government.
Gupta’s efforts have paid off.
On Thursday, Gupta was sworn in as Delhi Chief Minister, making her the city’s fourth woman CM after Sushma Swaraj, Sheila Dikshit and Atishi.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) picked the first-time MLA and three-term former councillor as its chief minister Wednesday.
Gupta won the Assembly elections from Shalimar Bagh with 68,200 votes, ahead of her nearest rival Bandana Kumari of the AAP who secured 38,605 votes.
Many leaders within the BJP described her as an ‘excellent orator’ who has served on ‘almost all organisational posts’, which helped her case as she was pitted against senior leaders like Parvesh Verma and Ashish Sood.
Gupta has been involved in politics since her student days and has been associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) since she was in college.
Gupta started her political journey with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). She became president of the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) in 1996-1997, and was first elected as a councilor from Pitampura North in 2007.
Also read: Just 9 months in, Rajasthan’s BJP govt beset by crises. From sulking minister to ‘bureaucrats’ rule’
Drum beats and sweets
The 50-year-old Gupta was born in 1974 in Nandgarh village in Julana tehsil of Haryana’s Jind district. Her family moved to Delhi in 1976 where her father took up a job in a nationalised bank.
A video that went viral on social media showed the BJP’s observer for the party’s legislators’ meeting to elect the Delhi chief minister, O.P. Dhankar, congratulating Rekha Gupta by addressing her as “Haryana ki beti”.
Gupta’s birthplace, Julana in Haryana’s Jind district, is presently represented in the state Vidhan Sabha by Olympian Vinesh Phogat.
Celebrations erupted in Julana where people danced to the beats of drums and distributed sweets when they heard the news of Gupta’s election as Delhi CM.
Her grandfather, Maniram, and other family members originally lived in Nandgarh village, where they ran a shop before moving to Julana to establish a commission agent business in the grain market.
Rekha’s father, Jai Bhagwan, worked at the Bank of India. In 1972-73, he was promoted to manager and transferred to Delhi, prompting the family to relocate. As a result, Rekha completed her schooling, graduation, and LLB in Delhi.
Gupta not only served as the election in-charge of the Mahila Morcha in Madhya Pradesh but Uttar Pradesh too.
An advocate by profession, Gupta hails from the Baniya community. She was elected to the municipal council from Pitampura North ward thrice. She is currently national vice-president of the BJP’s Mahila Morcha.
According to a Delhi BJP leader, Gupta was on the ground when the party’s state leadership was working on the Laadli Behna scheme in Madhya Pradesh. Schemes centred around women were also one of the key poll promises of the BJP in the run-up to the Delhi Assembly elections.
“Sometimes things fall into place at the right time. When Rekha ji contested the last two times, many felt she would not be given a ticket this time. Not only did she get a ticket, but she ensured a win too,” said a party leader.
“The fact that the party focused on women voters and many of its key promises centred around women helped Gupta too. Though there were other women leaders too, her administrative experience, her ability to take everyone along and not losing her cool helped her case.”
It announced Rs 2,500 per month to eligible women, one-time financial assistance of Rs 21,000 for pregnant women and higher old-age assistance.
Gupta told ThePrint ahead of the Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections that they had decided that on Raksha Bandhan, women from each assembly segment would send a rakhi to Chief Minister Shivraj Chouhan, who would hold a video conference to wish them.
“It was a simple gesture but had great ramifications. The images soon went viral on social media,” said a senior BJP leader recalling the incident.
A first-time MLA, she had unsuccessfully contested the Delhi Assembly elections twice. In 2022, when she was elected a councillor, the party also named her as a mayoral candidate against Shelly Oberoi of the AAP.
“She is a brilliant host. She is a humble lady and there are many stories in the BJP circle about her generosity. She will prove to be a brilliant administrator,” said a senior BJP leader.
“She has been involved in student politics, has raised many issues related to women. As the head of the Women’s Welfare and Child Development Committee, she led empowerment campaigns for women. She also served as the general secretary of the BJP Mahila Morcha in Delhi and as a member of its national executive committee,” said another leader.
Unlike the past when the BJP named chief ministerial candidates in Delhi, the party went to the polls this time without projecting any CM face, banking solely on the appeal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The party managed to break its 27-year-old jinx and won the Delhi election, grabbing 48 seats with the AAP being reduced to 22 seats.
“After 2007, she went on to win the 2021 MCD elections, too, when the MCD was trifurcated. This time she won from the North Delhi Municipal Corporation. The party realised her potential and she was made the chairperson of the education committee. She tried to initiate a number of reforms whether it was related to uniforms or ensuring pucca school building,” said a senior party leader.
With inputs from Sushil Manav
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
Also read: ‘BJP proxies’, or Independents? Past, present & future tense for ex-militants in J&K poll fray
