Gupta, a BJP MLA from Rohini, has been a prominent figure in Delhi politics. In the recent assembly elections, he won his seat by a margin of over 37,000 votes, defeating Pradeep Mittal of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
A seasoned politician, Gupta has previously served as the Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Assembly, president of the BJP’s Delhi unit, a member of the Delhi Development Authority, and chairman of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s (MCD) standing committee.
Who is Vijender Gupta?
Born on August 14, 1963, Vijender Gupta is an alumnus of Shri Ram College of Commerce. He started his political career in 1980 with Janata Vidyarthi Morcha and later became president of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha in 1995.
His electoral success started in 1997 when he was elected as a councillor in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). Over the years, he held key positions, including Chairman of the Law & General Purpose Committee and Deputy Chairman of the House Tax Committee.
He is known as Rohini’s ‘Gupta Ji’ who managed to win for the BJP even when the party was crushed to just three MLAs in 2015 and AAP’s running joke back then was that the opposition could be accommodated on a bike.
Despite a setback in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections against Congress leader Kapil Sibal and a loss to Arvind Kejriwal in the 2013 Delhi Assembly elections, Gupta bounced back in 2015 by winning the Rohini seat and becoming one of BJP’s three victorious candidates that year. He retained the seat in 2020, defeating AAP’s Rajesh Nama ‘Bansiwala’ by over 12,000 votes, and secured another victory in 2025 with the highest winning margin among BJP candidates.
But what probably set Vijender Gupta apart from the rest is his raising the C&AG report issue against the Arvind Kejriwal government in the Delhi High Court. While the media was aloof, he sensed an alleged scam.
In January this year, just ahead of the election, the Delhi High Court, in a strongly worded observation, sought the tabling of 14 CAG reports in the House. Justice Sachin Datta had said, “You should have promptly forwarded the reports to the Speaker and had a discussion in the House. The timeline is stark. The way you have been dragging your feet is something that is unfortunate.”
The BJP built a narrative of an alleged scam that the AAP had to hide which Vijender Gupta, along with his colleagues were trying to unfold. This further set the tone of the election that wasn’t in favour of Arvind Kejriwal.
Vijender Gupta Controversies
In 2009, Congress leader Kapil Sibal accused BJP’s Vijender Gupta of violating the model code of conduct in Chandni Chowk in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. He claimed Gupta’s wife, Sobha, misled senior citizens by crediting her husband for a pension hike while holding his campaign poster. Sibal filed a complaint with the Election Commission, calling it bribery. Gupta dismissed the allegations as an attempt to sideline voters’ judgment.
In October 2024, AAP leaders filed police complaints against Vijender Gupta, accusing him of caste discrimination and assaulting a female bus marshal. Gupta had earlier filed an FIR against AAP leaders for misconduct.
What is a Pro-tem Speaker?
A pro-tem speaker is a temporary presiding officer appointed to conduct the first session of a newly elected legislative assembly until a permanent Speaker is elected. The pro-tem speaker administers the oath to newly elected members and oversees the Speaker’s election process. This role is usually assigned to the senior-most MLA in the House.
(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)
First Published: Feb 20, 2025 11:33 AM IST
