The nomination of Rekha Gupta as Chief Minister of Delhi has the stamp of approval by the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh. The senior leader hails from the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the youth wing of the Sangh.
The top leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party is understood to have accommodated the RSS’ candidate for the Chief Minister’s post after a strong backing by the Sangh in recent Delhi Assembly polls. The BJP was, able to secure 48 of the 70 seats in the Delhi Assembly after trouncing the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party.
It was only after a massive outreach program by the RSS cadres where about 60,000 meetings were held across the city that the BJP returned to power in the national capital after 27 years.
It is understood that Gupta, a first time MLA, had a strong backing of the RSS ever since the results of the polls were announced. The Sangh had expressed a complete confidence in her and had also conveyed the same to the BJP leadership, sources said.
Ever since the less than adequate performance of the BJP in 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the Sangh has been more hands on in electoral strategy and support to its political affiliate.
The Sangh cadre had upped its outreach, where issues related to nationalism and public welfare measures of the Narendra Modi government were discussed. And the results of these meetings have been seen in recent Maharashtra, Haryana and Delhi Assembly polls.
Last year, in Haryana, the BJP won 48 out of 90 seats for a third consecutive term, while in Maharashtra, the MahaYuti alliance — comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena (Shinde faction), and NCP (Ajit Pawar) — claimed 228 out of 288 seats.
The saffron win in these two states was attributed to the effective outreach by RSS narrative in favour of the party.
In Delhi, the campaign by Sangh was launched soon after the Maharashtra election and the city was divided among eight zones, catering to 30 districts and 173 nagars.
Apart from RSS pracharaks, cadres of various associate organizations also took part in the outreach program in Delhi.
