Rekha Gupta, the first-time MLA from Shalimar Bagh, defeated AAP candidate Bandna Kumari by over 29,000 votes in the February 5 Assembly polls. Notably, Ms Gupta contested the Shalimar Bagh seat in both the 2015 and 2020 Delhi elections but was defeated by AAP’s Bandana Kumari in both years. Gupta, a former president and general secretary of the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) has served as the general secretary of the BJP Mahila Morcha in Delhi and as a member of the party’s national executive committee.
She started her political journey with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) at Daulat Ram College, Delhi University, in 1992. In 1996-97, she became president of the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU), where she actively raised student-related issues. Elected as a councillor from North Pitampura in 2007, she worked on enhancing public amenities such as libraries, parks, and swimming pools. She was re-elected in 2012 and later served as the mayor of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), further building her administrative experience.
