Rekha Gupta’s rise to power brings pride amid state’s gender imbalance

Rekha Gupta, a BJP politician from Nandgarh village in Jind district, has triggered waves of pride both in her native village and across Haryana with her recent appointment as the new Chief Minister of Delhi. She is the second woman from Haryana to enter the office, following Ambala-resident Sushma Swaraj, who briefly served as Delhi CM.

She is the third politician having roots in Haryana, after Arvind Kejriwal served as CM for nearly 10 years.

Her rise to power in Delhi has sparked celebrations in her ancestral village of Nandgarh in Jind which is part of Julana block. Her grandfather, Mani Ram, and her family were known for their business in the region, running an arhtiya shop (a grain merchant) in Julana town. Her father, Jai Bhagwan, later moved to Delhi for a job in the banking sector, which led to the family relocating to the capital. While she spent her childhood in Delhi, the connection to her rural roots remains a source of pride for both her and the villagers, say villagers.

Kamlesh, a woman from the same village, recalled her memories of Gupta's family. “I remember her grandmother often visiting our house. She was very kind. Now, Rekha is becoming the Chief Minister of Delhi, and it's a matter of pride for us. We will welcome her when she visits the village,” she said, a former sarpanch Hariom Sharma said Rekha is daughter of the village and it’s a proud moment for all of them.

Though Rekha Gupta’s story is one of breaking barriers, Haryana continues to struggle with its skewed sex ratio. The state has long-standing gender imbalances, deep-rooted in cultural and socio-economic causes. In some villages such as Shamlo Kalan, the sex ratio at birth (SRB) is as low as 659 girls per 1,000 boys.

As of 2024, Haryana's sex ratio at birth has dropped to 910 girls per 1000 boys, a decline from 914 in 2017 indicating gender imbalances. The situation in Jind district, however, shows a slightly better trend with an SRB (Sex Ratio at Birth) of 919 girls per 1000 boys, still not ideal but comparatively better than the overall state average.