Chaudhary Brahm Prakash to Rekha Gupta: A look at Delhi's chief ministers since 1952

First-time MLA Rekha Gupta on Thursday took oath as the fourth woman chief minister of Delhi,

First-time MLA Rekha Gupta on Thursday took oath as the fourth woman chief minister of Delhi, days after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) returned to power in the national capital after over two decades.

The oath ceremony was held at the iconic Ramlila ground and was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Ministers and Deputy Chief Ministers of 20 states, and other senior BJP leaders and workers. Besides her, six newly elected MLAs -- Parvesh Verma, Kapil Mishra, Ashish Sood, Pankaj Singh, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, and Ravinder Indraj -- will also take oath as members of the new Council of Ministers.

Here’s a list of Delhi’s Chief Ministers spanning from Congress’s rule in 1952 to now BJP’s comeback after 27 years.

Congress won in 1952

The first Assembly elections in Delhi were held in 1952. It was dominated by Congress, which secured 39 of the 48 seats. The first CM of Delhi was Chaudhary Brahm Prakash of Congress. Although, after the elections, Deshbandhu Gupta was announced to be made the Chief Minister, he died in a plane crash. Then Chaudhary Brahm Prakash became the CM.

This government was short-lived because the States Reorganisation Commission in 1956 changed Delhi’s status from state to Union territory, resulting in the dissolution of the Legislative Assembly.

Democratic void

From 1956 to 1993, Delhi had no chief minister or a Legislative Assembly. For the first decade, governance in the Union territory was managed by the elected members of the municipal council. In 1966, Delhi was given the status of a metropolitan corporation. In 1991, by amending the Constitution, it was declared a National Capital Territory. After delimitation, the Assembly was reconstructed. In 1991, the 69th Constitutional Amendment approved the formation of a 70-member Assembly for Delhi. Twelve seats were reserved for the Scheduled Castes.

BJP in power

The first Delhi Assembly Elections following the resolution that allowed the national capital to have a Legislative Assembly were held in 1993. The elections were dominated by the BJP, which won 49 of the 70 seats. In the following elections, BJP emerged as the victorious party. Leaders such as Madan Lal Khurana, Sahib Singh Verma and Sushma Swaraj held the chief ministerial posts spanning from 1993 to 1998.

Congress back in power

In 1998, the Congress emerged as the winner with 52 seats. The BJP won only 15 seats and Sheila Dikshit was made the chief minister. She became the longest-serving CM in Delhi.

Kejriwal becomes CM

Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP, which emerged from the Anna movement, came to power. Kejriwal became the new Chief Minister of Delhi. In the 2013 elections, Kejriwal’s party won 28 out of 70 seats and formed the government with the support of Congress. However, soon he resigned from his post. The AAP then won landslide victories in the 2015 and 2020 elections with 67 and 62 seats, respectively, out of 70 seats.

Kejriwal remained in power from February 2015 to September 2024. He ultimately resigned from the post in the backdrop of massive corruption allegations and legal challenges. AAP’s Atishi succeeded Kejriwal and steered the Delhi government till the 2025 assembly elections were held.