Rekha Gupta Is Delhi’s New CM: Can She Succeed Where Three BJP CMs Failed?
Shalimar Bagh MLA Rekha Gupta has become Delhi's fourth woman CM as well as the fourth BJP leader to hold the post. So far, none of the previous CMs from the BJP have completed a full term in office.
Delhi's Shalimar Bagh MLA Rekha Gupta created history when she took oath as Delhi CM. With her taking the oath, Delhi has become the first region to have four woman Chief Ministers. Rekha Gupta is the Bharatiya Janata Party's fourth CM and second woman CM. However, the BJP in Delhi also has the unenviable record of no CM completing a full term of five years.
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BJP's Four Chief Ministers In Delhi
The BJP has had three CMs so far — Madan Lal Khurana (1993), Sahib Singh Verma (1996-1998), and Sushma Swaraj (October 1998- December 1998). All four CMs, including Rekha Gupta, have had strong Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) background.
Madan Lal Khurana
Madan Lal Khurana, often called 'Delhi ka Sher' (Lion of Delhi), became Delhi's first Chief Minister from the BJP after the 69th Constitutional Amendment Act in 1991 restored the state Legislative Assembly. He assumed office on December 2, 1993, following the 1993 Assembly elections where the BJP bagged 49 seats.
Khurana's tenure, however, was cut short due to allegations of his involvement in a Hawala scandal in 1995. Amid mounting political pressure, Khurana resigned on February 22, 1996, on the advice of LK Advani.
Sahib Singh Verma
Sahib Singh Verma, a Jat leader, succeeded Khurana as Delhi's Chief Minister on February 26, 1996. Verma was the Education and Development Minister in Khurana's Cabinet. His time in office was marked by infighting within the party, primarily stemming from Khurana, which weakened his position.
Watch this video of Sahib Singh Verma demanding full statehood for Delhi:
Verma also had to with inflation and power & water crises in Delhi. Public dissatisfaction and allegations of hoarding and corruption eventually led to Verma's resignation in 1998, with barely six months remaining for the Assembly elections. He resigned on October 12, 1998. Sahib Singh Verma is the father of Parvesh Verma, the BJP's New Delhi MLA, who defeated Arvind Kejriwal this year.
Sushma Swaraj
Sushma Swaraj, Delhi's first woman CM, briefly held the office of Chief Minister of Delhi for 52 days in 1998. Swaraj won the 1998 Lok Sabha election and decided to keep the South Delhi Parliamentary constituency and give up the Hauz Khas Assembly seat. She was succeeded by the Congress's Sheila Dikshit, who then led the government in the national capital for three full terms.
Challenges For Rekha Sharma
The BJP will be now hoping for Rekha Gupta to complete a full five-year term in office. However, her path won't be easy. The BJP, with its tall promises before the polls, will be hard-pressed to fulfil them.
Rs 2,500 Monthly Allowance For Women
Rekha Gupta will have to tackle multiple challenges simultaneously. The first on her list will be to ensure the disbursal of Rs 2,100 for the women of Delhi. The BJP said that the beneficiaries will start getting the allowance from March 8, International Women's Day.
On the other hand, the BJP also needs to start working on a plan to ensure the disbursal of Rs 21,000 to expecting mothers. Rekha Gupta will have barely three weeks to work out a Budget and mechanism for the same.
Yamuna Clean-Up
One of the major poll promises of the BJP was the clean-up of the Yamuna, which has become 'biologically dead' in Delhi. The BJP repeatedly attacked the AAP over its failure to clean the Yamuna.
Now Rekha Gupta will have to take up the challenge on a war footing controlling the effluent release from factories in Delhi and curbing the dumping of domestic waste into the river.
To top up her list of Yamuna challenges, Gupta will also have to work out a plan for clean water supply to the entire Delhi, which often grapples with the problem of shortage in the summers.
Healthcare And Ayushman Bharat
Another big challenge will be providing free or at least affordable healthcare — an issue that the BJP has continuously used to corner the AAP. The BJP has promised to implement the Ayushman Bharat scheme in Delhi.
However, implementing the Ayushman Bharat scheme is easier than having hospitals, especially the private ones, implement it. The 2018 scheme is run on a 60:40 Centre-state partnership. Although Delhi will now have a "double-engine" government, the finances of the Union Territory are apparently not in a healthy state.
The BJP had earlier alleged that the AAP had ruined the finances with its "freebie schemes". However, the AAP said it had a revenue surplus in Delhi. Now, with its own freebie schemes, the BJP will have to implement several schemes and maintain a revenue surplus. Planning this will be a herculean challenge for Rekha Gupta.
Despite the challenges, Rekha Gupta is hopeful of completing her term as CM as this time, she is backed by the PM Narendra Modi-led Centre and is unlikely to face the challenges as her predecessors who held the office from the BJP.
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