Raut welcomes BJP 'worker' Rekha Gupta as Delhi CM but cites her past acts of vandalism

Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Thursday welcomed the BJP's decision to make party worker Rekha Gupta the chief minister of Delhi, though he added that she had indulged in vandalism and hooliganism in the civic body there.

Gupta (50), who won from Shalimar Bagh defeating AAP candidate Bandana Kumari by over 29,000 votes, took oath as the ninth chief minister of Delhi earlier in the day.

"She is a BJP worker who was part of the ABVP (students' wing). She, at one point of time, resorted to hooliganism and vandalism in the Delhi civic body. She also resorted to rioting before the mayor. I have seen that," Raut said about Gupta, a first-time MLA who has earlier served as a municipal councillor.

"If such a person has been made the CM then it is a good choice and it is the choice of its ideology. We welcome that a party worker has got such a big post," Raut told reporters.

Gupta is the fourth woman chief minister of Delhi after Sushma Swaraj (BJP), Sheila Dikshit(Congress) and Atishi (AAP).

Along with CM Gupta (50), six newly elected MLAs -- Parvesh Verma, Ashish Sood, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Kapil Mishra, Ravinder Indraj Singh, Kapil Mishra and Pankaj Singh -- were administered the oath of office by Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena at the Ramlila Maidan on Thursday.