A huge crowd attended the event and around 40 celebrities were invited. On Wednesday, BJP picked Rekha Gupta as Delhi's chief minister after 11 days of suspense over who would get the top post following the BJP's return to power.
BJP's first-time MLA Rekha Gupta took oath as the Chief Minister of Delhi on Thursday at Ramlila Maidan. A huge crowd attended the ceremony which was held around noon. Party leaders earlier said around one lakh people are expected to throng the whole area.
On Wednesday, BJP picked Gupta as Delhi's chief minister after 11 days of suspense over who would get the top post following the BJP's return to power. Gupta (50) was chosen as Leader of the House in the Delhi Assembly at the BJP legislature party meeting late on Wednesday, senior BJP leader Ravishankar Prasad announced.
The party members told PTI that the preparations were underway for the mega event at the Ramlila Maidan with its boundary walls getting a fresh coat of paint and workers cleaning the sprawling ground, and the pavements and roads around it. Ramlila Maidan can accommodate accommodate around 30,000 people.
"The layout of the tents, including a VIP block for dignitaries, is being finalised. Around one lakh people are expected to be inside and outside the venue to celebrate the BJP's victory in Delhi after 26 years," a source told PTI.
Commenting on the preparations, BJP MP Yogender Chandolia told PTI that preparations for the ceremony were in full swing at the Ramlila Ground.
"Around 50,000 people, including party workers, RWA, sections of society and saints, will be invited. It will be a grand event in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Cabinet ministers will be present. It will last around 25-30 minutes," the Northwest Delhi MP said.
It has been told that The Ramlila Ground was chosen as the venue for the ceremony as the Raj Niwas could not have accommodated such a huge crowd.
The venue will have three stages with dignitaries, including the prime minister, Delhi LG V K Saxena, BJP President J P Nadda, the new chief minister and members of his or her Cabinet seated at the central stage.
It will be flanked by the two stages on which other dignitaries, including Union ministers, politicians, chief ministers of other states will be seated.
According to a report by NDTV, chief ministers and deputy chief ministers of 20 states are likely to attend the mega event besides BJP leaders and workers from other states who campaigned in the Delhi elections. Besides politicians, more than fifty film stars and industrialists are also expected to attend the event.
The event is also likely to see the presence of spiritual leaders like Baba Ramdev, Swami Chidananda, Baba Bageshwar Dhirendra Shastri and others, as per the report.
Officials said that as per protocol, outgoing Delhi chief minister Atishi and her predecessor and three time chief minister Arvind Kejriwal will also be invited to the oath ceremony.
Moreover, the farmers of Delhi, beneficiaries of central government schemes including Laadli sisters will also be invited to the ceremony.
The chief ministers of some BJP-ruled states, including Gujarat, may skip the oath-taking ceremony because of their preoccupation with presentation of budget in those states.
Over 25,000 security personnel and over 15 companies of paramilitary forces were deployed across the city for Thursday's oath ceremony of the new chief minister at Ramlila Maidan, a Delhi Police officer said.
"We have deployed more than 25,000 police personnel and over 15 companies of paramilitary forces," the officer told PTI.
"More than 5,000 police and paramilitary force personnel are deployed in and around Ramlila Maidan. Around 2,500 strategic points were identified where heavy deployment has already been made," he added.
The police said commandos, quick reaction teams, PCR vans, and SWAT teams were also deployed at strategic locations while snipers were positioned at high-rise buildings nearby. Every nook and cranny were being monitored through AI-based facial recognition CCTV cameras, they added.
Dethroning the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the Delhi Assembly Elections 2025, the BJP on February 8 returned to power in the national capital after more than 26 years.
The party ended the decade-long rule of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), winning 48 seats in the 70-member House to AAP's 22.
The victory was sweetened for the BJP by the defeat of AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, who lost his New Delhi seat to Parvesh Verma.