BJP's Women's Day gift for Delhi! CM-designate Rekha Gupta promises first ₹2,500 aid by March 8

As a gift on Women's Day, Delhi’s chief minister-to-be, Rekha Gupta, said on Thursday that the BJP government will fulfil its poll promise of providing ₹2,500 in monthly financial assistance to women starting next month.

Gupta said that the first instalment of the monthly aid will be credited to the accounts of all eligible women by March 8. Incidentally, March 8 is celebrated as International Women’s Day every year.

“Fulfilling the dream of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the responsibility of all 48 BJP MLAs in the capital. We will definitely fulfil all our promises, including financial support for women. Women will 100% get monetary support into their accounts by March 8,” Delhi's chief minister-designate said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in its manifesto ahead of the Delhi Assembly Elections, said that it would provide monthly financial assistance of ₹2,500 to women in Delhi, aiming to outdo the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) promise of ₹2,100 per month.

Rekha Gupta, who was elected as the leader of the BJP legislature party on Wednesday, reassured that delivering on the party's promises is her top priority.

Rekha Gupta becomes Delhi chief minister

In a meeting of the BJP legislature party on Wednesday, Rekha Gupta was chosen as the Leader of the House in the newly constituted 8th Delhi Assembly, thereby becoming the new chief minister of the national capital.

First-time MLA Rekha Gupta will lead the return of the BJP to power after over 26 years, ending the 10-year rule of the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP.

The 50-year-old was chosen as the new chief minister in a late evening meeting in the national capital, led by BJP leaders Ravishankar Prasad and OP Dhankar, ending the 11-day suspense over the leader of the new Delhi government.

Rekha Gupta won from the Shalimar Bagh assembly constituency defeating AAP candidate Bandana Kumari by over 29,000 votes. She is the fourth woman chief minister of Delhi, after Sushma Swaraj, Sheila Dixit and Atishi.

Rekha Gupta is also the only woman CM of NDA-ruled states, and the second one in India at present after TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee.

Rekha Gupta swearing-in ceremony

The Delhi CM oathtaking ceremony will begin at 12:35 pm on Thursday at the Ramlila grounds in New Delhi in a grand event.

Around 50,000 people, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his cabinet colleagues and the chief ministers of NDA-ruled states among others, are expected to attend the oath-taking ceremony.

Cabinet Ministers Parvesh Sahib Singh, Ashish Sood, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Ravinder Indraj Singh, Kapil Mishra and Pankaj Kumar Singh will also take their oaths along with Gupta.

More than 25,000 security personnel and over 15 paramilitary companies have been deployed across the national capital for the swearing-in ceremony.

(With agency inputs)