Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta’s political journey began during her student days at Delhi University, where she became an active student leader and eventually served as president of the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) in 1996-97.
Gupta studied B.Com at Daulat Ram College between 1992 and 1995. During her college years, she joined the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and became general secretary of the Daulat Ram College Students’ Union in 1994.
In 1995-96, she became general secretary of DUSU before being elected its president the following year. Her student-politics years involved travelling across the university’s North Campus, meeting students and raising issues related to academics, security and transport.
According to former DUSU joint secretary Rajneesh Jindal, Gupta and other student leaders often travelled between colleges to interact with students. On some occasions, they reportedly travelled on Gupta’s white scooter or Jindal’s Bajaj Chetak.
Gupta’s DUSU tenure also coincided with the student-political career of Alka Lamba, who represented the rival National Students’ Union of India (NSUI). Lamba became DUSU president in 1995, while Gupta served as general secretary from ABVP. Despite their ideological differences, the two worked together in the student union.
After Gupta became Delhi chief minister in February 2025, Lamba recalled their student-politics days and shared a photograph of the two taking oath as DUSU office-bearers.
During her student-politics career, Gupta was associated with campaigns concerning academic schedules, campus security and student transportation. Jindal recalled that she advocated for an academic calendar with at least 150 proper working days and raised concerns over women’s safety on North Campus. She also pushed for more U-Special buses to improve student transport.
After completing her DUSU tenure, Gupta continued her association with ABVP before joining the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2002. She later held several organisational positions within the party.
Gupta entered electoral politics through the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and was elected councillor in 2007 and 2012. She subsequently served as mayor of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation.
In the 2025 Delhi Assembly election, Gupta won the Shalimar Bagh constituency and was later chosen as chief minister.
The latest DUSU elections saw ABVP win three of the four central panel posts. Yash Dabas became president, Riya Chhawadi secretary and Lakshya Raj Singh joint secretary. Independent candidate Deepanshu Shokeen won the vice-president’s post, marking the return of an independent candidate to the DUSU central panel after 17 years.
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