- BJP has not controlled the local legislature in New Delhi since 1998.
- The elections expel the leader of AAP Arvind Kejriwal, prominent critic of Modi.
- Gupta faces great challenges, including the capital's air pollution crisis.
A member of the ruling Hindu-Nacionalist party of India was sworn on Thursday as the main minister of Delhi after an electoral landslide gave him the control of the capital for the first time in decades.
Rekha Gupta, 50, of the Bharatiya Janata party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi (BJP) is the fourth woman to serve as the main minister of the extensive megacacity of more than 30 million people.
The BJP is in the government nationwide, but has not controlled the local legislature in Delhi since 1998, so its radical victory that will take more than two thirds of the seats in the surveys of February 5 was symbolic and strategically important.
Gupta, who has a law title and began his career in student politics in the city, was selected for the position by members of the party on Wednesday night.
“I will carry the duties of the office faithfully and impartially,” Gupta said while lending the oath in front of a multitude of cheers.
Modi, who was present at the ceremony, said in a position on X that Gupta had “emerged from the bases” to become the prime minister.
“I'm sure he will work for the development of Delhi with complete vigor,” he added.
The elections expelled the AAM AADMI (AAP) party, whose leader Arvind Kejriwal had ruled Delhi for much of the last decade and was an outstanding critic of Modi.
Kejriwal rode power as an anti -corruption crusader, but spent several months after bars last year because of the accusations that his party became bribes in exchange for liquor licenses.
He has denied irregularities and characterized the charges as a witch political hunt by the Modi government.
Victory is a boost for the BJP and Modi, 74, who won a third term in office after the elections last year, but with a small vote that forced him to trust the partners of the coalition to govern.
Gupta faces important challenges, including the monumental air pollution crisis of Delhi, which stifles the city in dangerous fumes for months during winter.
Nueva Delhi is regularly classified as the worst capital in the world to suffocate the SMOG, which often increases up to 60 times the recommended newspaper of the World Health Organization.
Years of fragmentary government initiatives have not been able to address the problem in a meditable way, with the Smog blamed for thousands of premature deaths annually and particularly affecting the health of children and the elderly.
None of the key matches caused the health crisis to address a focal point of their campaigns.
