MCD bypolls: BJP wins 7 wards, AAP 3, Congress opens account

New Delhi, Dec 3 (PTI) In the first electoral contest in Delhi since February's Assembly election, the BJP fell short of expectations, winning seven of the 12 seats in the MCD bypolls, even as its main rival, the AAP, managed to secure three wards.

Congress snatched the Sangam Vihar A ward from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The party held none of the 12 wards earlier, where bypolls were held on November 30.

The All India Forward Bloc, backed by local heavyweight Shoaib Iqbal, opened its account with a victory in Chandni Mahal, defeating the AAP candidate.

The civic body bypolls were a litmus test for the BJP, as these were its first big electoral battle after coming to power in the capital in February.

The BJP, which previously held nine of the 12 wards, lost three of those -- Mundka, Naraina and Dakshinpuri -- to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). It, however, managed to wrest the prestigious Chandni Chowk ward back from the AAP.

Interestingly, of the seven BJP winners, six were women.

According to the State Election Commission, the BJP secured a vote share of 45.09 per cent, while the AAP and the Congress managed to get a vote share of 34.97 per cent and 13.44 per cent respectively.

The results proved a mixed bag for the AAP, which previously held three of the 12 wards. It lost the minority-dominated Chandni Mahal and Chandni Chowk wards, while defeating the BJP in Munka, Dakshinpuri and Naraina.

AAP leaders said the results were an indicator that the BJP's fortunes are declining in Delhi, where it came to power after 27 years after winning the Assembly polls in February.

"This was a prestige test for the BJP and Chief Minister Rekha Gupta. She campaigned in every ward and even distributed free domestic gas cylinders. Despite all that, the party lost two wards held by it earlier. It has failed the litmus test," AAP's Delhi unit chief Saurabh Bharadwaj told a press conference.

Former chief minister and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal said the results of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) bypolls have shown that public trust is returning towards his party in just 10 months, while BJP leaders, including Delhi minister Kapil Mishra, said the opposition party has lost face in Chandni Mahal and Chandni Chowk due to its "corruption" record.

During campaigning for the MCD bypolls, several BJP leaders had asserted that the party would improve its tally by winning at least 10 of the 12 wards.

The saffron party had appointed Delhi ministers as in-charges of two wards each. The BJP lost the Mundka ward where Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa was the in-charge, while it also failed to retain the Dakshinpuri and Sangam Vihar A wards that were under the charge of Parvesh Kumar Verma.

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said the margin of defeat for the party was small in two wards and the results will be reviewed to find out the reasons for the loss.

The BJP won seven wards and the AAP three, while the Congress and the Forward Bloc emerged victorious in one ward each.

BJP's Suman Kumar Gupta defeated AAP's Harsh Sharma by a margin of 1,182 votes in Chandni Chowk.

The saffron party also comfortably won the Shalimar Bagh B ward, with Anita Jain defeating AAP's Babita Rana by a margin of more than 10,000 votes.

The Shalimar Bagh B ward was vacated after BJP councillor Gupta won the Assembly polls and went on to become the chief minister.

The AAP won the Mundka and Dakshinpuri wards, while the Congress's Suresh Choudhary won the Sangam Vihar A ward by defeating the BJP's Subhajeet Gautam.

Choudhary polled 12,766 votes, while his opponent managed to get 9,138 votes.

Delhi Congress chief Devender Yadav thanked the party workers for the victory and extended heartfelt greetings to the people of Sangam Vihar.

BJP's Veena Asija was locked in a close fight with AAP's Seema Goyal but surged ahead to win the Ashok Vihar ward by a margin of 405 votes.

Forward Bloc candidate Mohammad Imran won the Chandni Mahal ward by defeating AAP's Mudassar Usman by a margin of 4,692 votes.

The BJP also won the Dichaon Kalan and Greater Kailash wards and the Dwarka-B ward, which was earlier held by its leader, Kamaljeet Sehrawat, who is now an MP.

BJP's Manisha Rani won the Dwarka-B ward by a comfortable margin of 9,100 votes against AAP's Raj Bala.

AAP's Rajan Arora won the Naraina seat by just 148 votes against BJP's Chandrakanta Shivani.

The counting of votes began at 8 am amid tight security.

The State Election Commission had set up 10 counting centres, one each at Kanjhawala, Pitampura, Bharat Nagar, Civil Lines, Rouse Avenue, Dwarka, Najafgarh, Gole Market, Pushp Vihar and Mandawali.

The strong rooms where the electronic voting machines (EVMs) were stored after polling were secured with adequate measures, including round-the-clock CCTV surveillance and the deployment of paramilitary and Delhi Police personnel.

The vote percentage in the bypolls was 38.51, as compared to 50.47 in the MCD election held for 250 wards in 2022. PTI SLB VIT BUN RC