PM Modi, Senior NDA leaders attend swearing-in ceremony of Delhi CM-designate Rekha Gupta

New Delhi [India], February 20 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived at the swearing-in ceremony of Delhi CM-designate Rekha Gupta on Thursday.

Before his arrival, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, along with Union Minister and BJP National President JP Nadda, reached Ramlila Maidan for the ceremony and greeted the CM-to-be Rekha Gupta.

Meanwhile, senior leaders from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), including Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan and Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, also arrived at Ramlila Maidan in the national capital to attend the event.

Speaking to ANI upon his arrival, Haryana CM Saini extended his congratulations to the Delhi CM-designate and criticized the previous AAP-led government.

"I congratulate Rekha ji and the people of Delhi, I also extend greetings. People of Delhi have given a mandate to PM Modi's leadership and policies. For a long, a government was in power by luring people and lying to them...People have ousted them from power," Saini told ANI.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde were also present at the event. Speaking on Rekha Gupta’s appointment, Shinde expressed his happiness, referring to her as a ‘Ladli Behna’ (beloved sister).

"It is a matter of happiness that our Ladli Behna Rekha Gupta is becoming the Chief Minister of Delhi. Delhi will now move towards becoming a “Viksit Delhi” ," Shinde said.

At the venue, the CM-designate and her husband greeted Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena.

Earlier, several senior leaders, including Union Ministers and Chief Ministers from neighboring states, had already arrived. Among the first to reach the venue were Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Delhi LG VK Saxena, Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma, Uttar Pradesh Deputy CM Vijay Kumar Sinha, Rajasthan Deputy CM Prem Chand Bairwa, and others.

Interestingly, Rekha Gupta was congratulated by Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal, who has been a vocal critic of AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal during the Assembly elections and before.

Gupta will be the fourth woman Chief Minister of Delhi, succeeding AAP’s Atishi. The national capital has previously had women Chief Ministers from the BJP, Congress, and Aam Aadmi Party.

Along with Gupta, six other MLAs will also take the oath as ministers - Parvesh Sahib Singh, Ashish Sood, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Ravinder Indraj Singh, Kapil Mishra, and Pankaj Kumar Singh.(ANI)