Chief Ministers of Delhi

List of CMs of Delhi

Chaudhary Brahm Prakash

Chaudhary Brahm Prakash was the first ever Chief Minister of Delhi. A member of the Indian National Congress (INC), he ascended to the post in 1952 and continued till 1955. A keen participant in the freedom movement launched by Mahatma Gandhi, post-independence, he worked as the Minister of Planning and Development. He was an outstanding Parliamentarian, something that is borne out by the accolades he received for his work in the said position. He also served as a Union minister in departments such as food, irrigation, agriculture and cooperatives. The first Chief Minister of Delhi focused on critical issues such as the welfare of the backward classes, development of rural areas and empowerment of weaker sections.

G N Singh

G N Singh was the person who succeeded Chaudhary Brahm Prakash. Singh was a member of the Indian National Congress as well. He functioned as the CM of Delhi for one year from 1955 to 1956. After his tenure came to an end, a parliamentary bill was passed whereby Delhi was made a union territory. Subsequently, no one was appointed as the next chief minister of Delhi until 1 January 1993 when the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act was passed by the central government.

Madan Lal Khurana

Madan Lal Khurana, a senior BJP leader, was the third Chief Minister of Delhi from 1993 till 1996 when he tendered his resignation. During the general elections of 1984, which took place after the demise of Indira Gandhi, BJP got severe drubbing. It was Khurana who worked without rest during this period and got the party back on its feet again. This also earned him the title of Dilli Ka Sher or the Lion of Delhi. In addition to being Delhi CM, he also served as the Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Tourism in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, and was the Governor of Rajasthan from 14 January 2004 to 28 October 2004.

Sahib Singh Verma

Sahib Singh Verma became the Chief Minister of Delhi during 1996 after Madan Lal Khurana got tied up in a corruption-related controversy. Even when Khurana received acquittal from the courts, Verma was allowed to continue as the CM by the BJP and this made Khurana his major political rival. Verma continued in this post till 1997 when onion price crisis led to the 4th CM of Delhi tendering his resignation. Unfortunately, Verma died on 30 June 2007, in a car accident on the Jaipur-Delhi highway.

Sushma Swaraj

One of the most well-known personalities in the Indian political domain, Sushma Swaraj became the first woman to become the Chief Minister of Delhi in October 1998. She left her position as a minister in the union cabinet to serve as the Delhi CM. However, her tenure as CM was far from ideal and the party lost owing to factors such as inflation and continually increasing prices. She resigned from her seat in Delhi Assembly as well and went back to national politics .

Sheila Dikshit 

Till date Sheila Dikshit has been the longest serving Chief Minister of Delhi. She was elected for the first time to this position on 3 December 1998 and continued till 28 December 2013. Her tenure as Delhi CM was beset with a number of issues such as accusations of corruption especially during the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Her decision to approve parole to Manu Sharma, the main accused in the Jessica Lal case, was highly contentious as well. Her remarks and inept handling of the situation post-Nirbhaya gang rape incident, also led to her criticism by her political opponents on grounds of insensitivity towards women.

Sheila Dikshit has also served as the Governor of Kerala from 11 March 2014 to 25 August 2014.

Arvind Kejriwal

Kejriwal served as Delhi Chief Minister from 28 December 2013 to 14 February 2014. One of the founding members of the Aam Aadmi Party, Kejriwal defeated Sheila Dikshit by a margin of 25,864 votes to become the new CM of Delhi. He also held the portfolios of Home , Finance, Power, Vigilance and Planning ministries. However, he resigned from his post on the Valentine’s Day in 2014, after accusing the other political parties of thwarting his plan to table the Jan Lokpal Bill. While he recommended that the Assembly be dissolved he also stated that Congress and BJP were not honest about the said legislation. Subsequently, Kejriwal has admitted several times that he had made a mistake by resigning in haste and failing to gauge people’s expectations from him.
WBSM22.11.2014
EBVD