Next Delhi CM to take oath at 4.30 pm on February 20, name to be announced Wednesday

The next chief minister (CM) of Delhi will take oath on February 20 at Ramlila Maidan. The swearing-in ceremony, to be attended by Bhartiya Janata Party's (BJP) top brass, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will be held at 4.30 pm, reports said on Monday.

The BJP defeated the incumbent Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi Assembly Election 2025, the result of which was announced on February 8.

The BJP has not revealed the chief minister's name yet. A decision to this effect is likely to be taken at the saffron party's legislative party meeting on February 19. The swearing-in will be held at 4.30 pm on February 20, according to a report by NDTV.

Meet the Chief Ministerial Hopefuls

Many BJP leaders have emerged as potential chief ministers since the saffron party registered the thumping majority in Delhi, where it has been out of power since 1998. The top contenders include Parvesh Verma, who defeated AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal from the New Delhi seat.

Rekha Gupta (Shalimar Bagh), Vijender Gupta (Rohini), Satish Upadhyay (Malviya Nagar), Ashish Sood (Janakpuri), Pawan Sharma (Uttam Nagar), and Ajay Mahawar (Ghonda), are also among names predicted to be the chief minister.

How is a BJP CM picked?

As per the norm, the BJP appoints observers from the party's central leadership before the legislature party meeting. The observers meet the new MLAs and give their feedback to the central leadership before the name of the CM is finalised before the oath-taking.

The BJP swept the Delhi Assembly Election 2025 by winning 48 seats out of 70. The election was a direct contest between BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which was in power in Delhi for two straight terms. The AAP won just 22 seats.

The BJP is coming to power in Delhi after a 27-year gap. The last BJP government in Delhi was under late Sushma Swaraj as CM until 1998. Since then the Congress had been in power for 15 years till 2013 followed by AAP government's two terms from 2015 to 2025.