Garba rhythms filled Chhatrasal Stadium in North Delhi on Saturday, October 17 as Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta danced and celebrated Navratri alongside hundreds of Anganwadi workers — the frontline women who keep the city's child-welfare network running every single day.

Posting on X, CM Gupta described the gathering in warm terms: 'आंगनबाड़ी बहनों के साथ गरबा की धुनों पर खूब झूमे' — 'danced joyfully to Garba tunes with our Anganwadi sisters' — adding that being among them always feels like the affection of family. Cabinet Minister Kapil Mishra was also present at the event.

Anganwadi workers at the heart of Delhi's welfare grid

The women celebrated at Chhatrasal Stadium are not ceremonial guests — they are the ground-level implementers of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme, a Central Government programme running since 1975 that delivers nutrition, health checks, and pre-school education through a network of Anganwadi centres across India. In a city as dense and diverse as Delhi, these workers form the last-mile link between policy and the family doorstep.

CM Gupta called them 'दिल्ली परिवार की अनमोल शक्ति' — 'the priceless strength of the Delhi family' — a phrase that frames the event as more than festive outreach. It positions Anganwadi workers explicitly within the ruling party's 'Delhi family' narrative, a recurring motif in the BJP-led government's public communication.

Garba at Chhatrasal: festivity meets frontline recognition

Chhatrasal Stadium, a prominent public venue in Model Town, North Delhi, has long doubled as a community gathering space beyond its sporting identity. Hosting a Navratri celebration there for welfare workers signals a deliberate choice of scale — large enough to accommodate a significant number of Anganwadi staff, visible enough to carry political weight.

Navratri, the nine-night Hindu festival honouring the goddess Durga, is traditionally marked by Garba and Dandiya dancing across India. For political leaders, joining such celebrations with grassroots government functionaries has become a standard outreach format — combining cultural participation with on-ground worker recognition in a single public moment.

CM Gupta closed her post with Navratri greetings, praying that 'Mata Rani ki kripa' — the goddess's grace — bring happiness and prosperity to every home. The warmth of the message, and the images of a Chief Minister dancing alongside welfare workers, is the kind of visual that travels well beyond the stadium walls.