CM Rekha Gupta offers Chhath Sandhya Arghya at Sonia Vihar
Synopsis
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta offered the Chhath Sandhya Arghya on the Yamuna banks at Sonia Vihar on 15 November 2026, praying for every Delhi family's well-being and highlighting the government's arrangements across approximately 1,400 Chhath ghats this year.
Key Takeaways
Delhi CM Rekha Gupta offered sandhya arghya (evening oblation) to the setting Sun during Chhath Puja on 15 November 2026 .
The ritual took place on the Yamuna riverbank at Sonia Vihar in northeast Delhi.
CM Gupta cited preparations across approximately 1,400 Chhath ghats in Delhi as a symbol of the government's commitment to devotees.
BJP MP Manoj Tiwari and Cabinet Minister Kapil Mishra were present at the event.
CM Gupta prayed for the happiness, prosperity and auspicious life of every family in Delhi.
The hashtag #दिल्ली_में_दिव्य_भव्य_छठ (Divine, Grand Chhath in Delhi) was used to frame the occasion.
As the winter sun dipped below Delhi's skyline on Sunday, 15 November 2026, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta stood on the banks of the Yamuna at Sonia Vihar and offered sandhya arghya — the evening oblation to the setting sun — marking the most sacred moment of Chhath Puja. Thousands of devotees packed the ghats around her, lamps flickering in the dusk.
Sharing the moment on X, CM Gupta wrote: 'Jai Chhathi Maiya! At the holy banks of Mother Yamuna in Sonia Vihar, I offered the evening arghya to the setting Sun and prayed to Chhathi Maiya for the happiness, prosperity and auspicious life of every family in Delhi.' She described the scene as a world of extraordinary faith — 'the shimmer of lamps, songs of Chhathi Maiya, devotion in the hearts of thousands of worshippers, and all of Delhi bathed in the red glow of the setting sun.'
1,400 ghats, one city's devotion
CM Gupta pointed to the government's preparations across approximately 1,400 Chhath ghats in Delhi this year, calling the arrangements a symbol of the state's pledge — to honour faith and ensure the comfort of every devotee. Delhi administrations have long provided lighting, security and sanitation along the Yamuna during Chhath, but the scale of civic mobilisation this cycle drew particular attention. Sonia Vihar, a northeast Delhi locality sitting directly on the riverbank, served as one of the festival's prominent sites.
The gathering carried cultural weight that runs deep in the capital. Chhath Puja draws the largest participation from Delhi's vast communities tracing roots to Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh — a constituency whose electoral and cultural significance in the city is hard to overstate. The festival, with its precise four-day discipline of fasting, immersion and solar worship, has become one of the most visible expressions of faith on the Yamuna's banks each November.
Tiwari and Mishra join the riverside gathering
Joining CM Gupta at the ghats were BJP MP Manoj Tiwari — a Bhojpuri cultural icon and longtime face of the party's outreach to Bihar-origin communities in Delhi — and Cabinet Minister Kapil Mishra. Their presence reinforced the BJP's consistent pattern of senior-leader participation at Chhath events across the capital, a festival that has grown in civic scale and political salience in equal measure over the past decade.
Gupta closed her message with a prayer: 'May Chhathi Maiya's blessings remain on every family. May this festival of faith on Mother Yamuna's banks continue to illuminate our Delhi.' The hashtag #दिल्ली_में_दिव्य_भव्य_छठ — 'Divine, Grand Chhath in Delhi' — framed the event as both a spiritual and civic statement.
When faith meets the river at sunset, Delhi pauses. The question now is whether the ghat infrastructure and Yamuna cleanliness measures on show this Chhath will hold — and improve — well into the next festival season.
Point of View
400 organised ghats signals an intent to frame civic competence around cultural events, linking administrative delivery directly to religious sentiment. With the Yamuna's condition a perennial flashpoint in Delhi politics, the festival also offers an implicit but pointed contrast — orderly, illuminated ghats against the river's well-documented pollution crisis. The presence of Manoj Tiwari, whose cultural identity is inseparable from the Bhojpuri-speaking diaspora, amplifies that community outreach further.
NationPress
15 Nov 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Chhath Puja and why is it celebrated?
Chhath Puja is an ancient Hindu festival dedicated to the Sun God and Chhathi Maiya (the sixth-day goddess). Devotees fast for four days and offer arghya — oblations of water and food — to the rising and setting sun at riverbanks, praying for well-being and prosperity. It is especially observed by communities from Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh.
Where did CM Rekha Gupta perform Chhath rituals in 2026?
CM Rekha Gupta offered Sandhya Arghya on the banks of the Yamuna at Sonia Vihar in northeast Delhi on 15 November 2026.
How many Chhath ghats did the Delhi government arrange in 2026?
CM Gupta's post mentions approximately 1,400 Chhath ghats across Delhi where the government made arrangements this year, covering lighting, security and facilities for devotees.
Who accompanied CM Rekha Gupta at the Chhath event at Sonia Vihar?
BJP Member of Parliament Manoj Tiwari and Delhi Cabinet Minister Kapil Mishra were present alongside CM Rekha Gupta at the Sonia Vihar Chhath gathering.
What is Sandhya Arghya in Chhath Puja?
Sandhya Arghya is the evening oblation offered to the setting Sun on the third day of Chhath Puja. Devotees stand in river water and offer milk, sugarcane, fruits and water to the sun as it descends — it is considered the most spiritually significant moment of the festival.
