When Delhi got its first woman CM in 1998 - Revisiting Sushma Swaraj's no-frills swearing-in during tumultuous times

In this December 10, 1998 file photo, is seen Sushma Swaraj being sworn in as chief minister of Delhi by then Lt Governor Vijay Kapoor at Raj Bhavan in New Delhi. (PTI Photo)

Lavish flower arrangements, 50,000 guests, musical performances, and VVIPs in attendance—the grand oath ceremony at Ramlila Maidan will highlight how significant Delhi's comeback is for the BJP. After all, the party has finally reclaimed the capital after being out of power for more than 27 years.

However, the frenzy at Ramlila Maidan stands in stark contrast to 1998, the last time a BJP Chief Minister governed Delhi. Back then, it was a solemn, no-frills ceremony at Raj Bhavan that saw Delhi get its first woman Chief Minister, Sushma Swaraj. At 46, Swaraj was serving as the Information and Broadcasting Minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s Cabinet when the BJP appointed her as Chief Minister to counter internal party conflicts.

Then Delhi Lt Governor Vijay Kapoor administered the oath of office in a simple ceremony at Raj Niwas. Sushma Swaraj, known for her stellar oratory skills, took oath in Hindi.

While the February 20 event tomorrow will see film stars, seers and business tycoons in attendance, the October 12, 1998 ceremony had handful of top politicians at Raj Niwas. Then Union Home Minister Lal Krishna Advani, BJP vice-president KL Sharma, Union Ministers Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Madan Lal Khurana outgoing CM Sahib Singh Verma, Delhi Police Commissioner VN Singh and Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president Shiela Dixit were present at the occasion.

Swaraj’s stint as Delhi CM was a brief one. She remained in the office for nearly two months before the state polls were announced on November 25, 1998. Swaraj’s appointment was aimed to refurbish party’s image ahead of state polls. Party leadership had asked Sahib Singh Verma to step down after he failed to take any action on spiraling prices of essential vegetables and tackle issue of water and power supply. The BJP had thought that change of guard may help in the state polls. Sahib Singh, who had taken over as Delhi CM from Madan Lal Khurana in 1996, was unhappy with the BJP brass. But the transition was implemented smoothly.

In her 52-day stint, Swaraj was known for her 'firefighting' for BJP. The party was departee to salvage the situation and Swaraj was seen as the go-to person for that. From setting up special committees to improve onion supply to surprise inspections at police stations, Swaraj did everything to restore BJP's public image. But analysts say that it was too late. Delhi had already made up her mind and the BJP was voted out of power. This heralded the 15-year regime of Sheila Dikshit, which ended with Arvind Kejriwal's 2013 blitz.