Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) politicians Parvesh Verma, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, and Kapil Mishra were sworn in as cabinet ministers along with Delhi chief minister-elect Rekha Gupta at Ramlila Maidan on Thursday. Ashish Sood, Pankaj Kumar Singh, and Ravinder Indraj Singh were also sworn in as members of the new BJP-run Delhi government.

The swearing-in ceremony, which took place at Ramlila Maidan, was a grand ceremony where Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other dignitaries were present. Gupta and her cabinet colleagues formally took charge in the new government.

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Meet the Six Delhi Cabinet Ministers

Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma

One of the most important Jat leaders in Delhi politics, Verma became a “giant killer” after he defeated Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor Arvind Kejriwal in the New Delhi constituency by 4,089 votes. Though there was speculation that he would be a contender for the chief minister’s post, he was made a cabinet minister. Verma was earlier a Lok Sabha MP from West Delhi from 2014 to 2024.

Kapil Mishra

Kapil Mishra won in the Karawal Nagar constituency by beating AAP’s Manoj Kumar Tyagi by 23,355 votes. He first won this seat in 2015 on the AAP ticket and was appointed in the Kejriwal government as the minister for water resources. Later, he was removed from the cabinet for having leveled corruption charges against then-fellow minister Satyendar Jain. In 2020, he ran in Model Town as a BJP candidate but lost to AAP’s Akhilesh Pati Tripathi. Mishra was also criticized for reportedly making inflammatory remarks prior to the February 2020 northeast Delhi riots.

Manjinder Singh Sirsa

Sirsa regained the Rajouri Garden seat in the Delhi polls, returning to the constituency after having represented it earlier. He beat AAP’s Dhanwati Chandela by more than 18,000 votes. Sirsa had previously won the 2017 by-elections for the same seat but lost to AAP’s Chandela in the 2020 Delhi Assembly polls.

Ashish Sood

High-profile BJP leader Ashish Sood was seen as a likely candidate for the chief minister’s post in Delhi. Sood won Janakpuri defeating AAP’s Parveen Kumar by 18,766 votes. He also has the significant role of being the party’s co-incharge in Jammu and Kashmir.

Pankaj Kumar Singh

Son of ex-Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) member Raja Mohan Singh, Pankaj Kumar Singh is a dentistry and public service backgrounded candidate. He has held prominent roles in the MCD and emerged victorious in his maiden assembly election from Vikaspuri by defeating AAP’s Mahinder Yadav by a margin of almost 13,000 votes.

Ravinder Indraj Singh

One of the most important Dalit leaders in the Delhi BJP, Ravinder Indraj Singh captured the Bawana assembly seat beating AAP’s Jai Bhagwan Upkar by more than 31,000 votes. He is a member of the BJP’s SC Morcha and has been working tirelessly for the Dalit community for a long time.