The cabinet of the new government led by Rekha Gupta balances representation of all major communities that propelled the Bharatiya Janata Party to power in Delhi with a massive majority after over 26 years.
In the February 5 Delhi assembly polls, the BJP won 48 seats, with nine of its MLAs belonging to the Bania community.
Chief Minister Gupta, a first-time legislator, belongs to the community.
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 in New Delhi on Thursday.
Manjinder Singh Sirsa: Sikh stalwart
A prominent leader in Delhi's political landscape, Manjinder Singh Sirsa is an active social worker who was involved in organising 'oxygen langars' during the Covid pandemic.
The leader, who turns 53 on February 28, took the oath in his mother tongue Punjabi.
His induction into the Delhi cabinet is seen as the BJP's effort to strengthen its support among the Sikh community, which has been critical of the party over its handling of the farmers' agitation, most of whom were Punjab, over the now-repealed farm laws.
He had secured victory over AAP's Dhanwati Chandela by a margin of 18,190 votes in the Delhi assembly polls.
A three-time MLA from Rajouri Garden, Sirsa quit the Shiromani Akali Dal to join the BJP in 2021.
He first won the Rajouri Garden seat in 2013 on an Akali Dal ticket before switching to the BJP in 2017, winning subsequent elections under its banner.
The Sikh leader has also been actively involved in various relief efforts like the ones launched after the natural disasters in Nepal, Chennai, Uttarakhand, and Jammu and Kashmir.
Sirsa has served as the president of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC).
As the DSGMC president in 2019, he played a key role in Covid relief efforts, organising langar sewa, providing assistance to doctors and nurses, arranging home delivery of food, and facilitating oxygen cylinder distribution.
In 2021, during the evacuation of Hindu and Sikh minorities from Afghanistan under "Operation Devi Shakti," Sirsa extended his support, helping relocate affected individuals to India.
When Gurdwara Karte Parwan was attacked in June 2022, Sirsa once again intervened, coordinating with India's Ministry of External Affairs to secure
Express Visas for 111 Hindus and Sikhs fleeing Afghanistan.
Sirsa holds the distinction of being the longest-serving general secretary of the DSGMC from February 26, 2013, to March 14, 2019. He later served as its president from March 15, 2019, to January 22, 2022.
According to his affidavit submitted to the Election Commission, Sirsa has a net worth of over Rs 188 crore, while his wife, Satwinder Kaur Sirsa, possesses assets worth more than Rs 71 crore.
The affidavit also mentions one FIR and four criminal defamation cases against him.
Pankaj Singh: Debutant MLA, dentist-turned-politician is Poorvanchali face in govt
Debutant legislator Pankaj Kumar Singh, a Purvanchali face in the newly formed Rekha Gupta government, is a dental surgeon-turned-politician.
Singh, 48, sworn in as a minister on Thursday, has won from the Vikaspuri seat, defeating his nearest rival by over 12,000 votes.
He is the general secretary of the Delhi BJP's Poorvanchal Morcha.
The Delhi residents coming from eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand are referred to as Poorvanchalis and they are dominant in several constituencies of the national capital.
Singh told PTI that the priorities before the new government are many and they include roads, hospitals, schools, drinking water supply and cleaning of the Yamuna river.
"The basic facilities which should be provided to the people of Delhi have not been given to them. Our efforts will be to provide facilities to the people of the national capital and to fulfil Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of a developed Delhi," he said.
Singh has done his Bachelor's degree in dental surgery from Magadh University, Bodh Gaya, in Bihar in 1998. His inclusion in the Delhi Cabinet hints towards the party's political choices in Bihar which goes to polls later this year.
He also served as a municipal corporation leader in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) before being fielded by the party from the Vikaspuri seat.
Ravinder Indraj Singh: BJP's Dalit face in Delhi cabinet
First-time MLA Ravinder Indraj Singh has been an active member of the BJP's Scheduled Caste (SC) Morcha.
Singh is the Dalit face in the Rekha Gupta-led Delhi Cabinet.
A prominent Dalit leader in the Delhi BJP, Singh, 50, has completed his higher education, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Delhi University's School of Open Learning (SOL).
He defeated AAP's Jai Bhagwan Upkar from the Bawana (SC reserved) seat by more than 31,000 votes.
Singh has been associated with the party's SC Morcha and has played a key role in mobilising support for the party in North Delhi.
His political journey is deeply rooted in Bawana, a constituency he now represents in the Delhi assembly.
Singh's father, Indraj Singh, had also served as an MLA from the Narela constituency.
According to his election affidavit, he has assets worth over Rs 7 crore, with no criminal cases registered against him.
Ashish Sood: Organisation man, prominent Punjabi face
A former Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU) president who rose through the ranks to hold key posts in the BJP, Janakpuri MLA Ashish Sood is a prominent Punjabi face in the Delhi cabinet.
The first-time MLA from Janakpuri is known for his organisational skills and is currently in charge of the Goa BJP and the co-incharge of the party's Jammu and Kashmir unit.
Like the new chief minister, Sood too is a former Delhi University Students' Union president -- winning the election in 1989 -- and served in various capacities in the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) including national secretary.
He became the general secretary of the BJP Yuva Morcha in 2003 and within two years went on to become its national vice president.
In December 2008, he was made the secretary of the Delhi BJP and became its general secretary the following year.
He was later appointed as the vice president of the state unit.
He was elected as a councillor in the erstwhile South Delhi Municipal Corporation in April 2012 and served as the Leader of the House in the civic body.
The 58-year-old leader is a businessman with a degree in commerce and won the Janakpuri seat by a margin of over 18,000 votes.
In party circles, he is known to enjoy the confidence of senior leaders and has been entrusted with important responsibilities in the past. Party insiders say that he has a cordial relationship with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
Sood honoured his parents -- mother Sushila and father Madan Gopal -- by taking their names as he took the oath of office on Thursday.
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