Delhi News Highlights: Arvind Kejriwal’s interim bail plea rejected in money laundering case

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) announced on Wednesday that it will discontinue property tax payments via cheques starting July 1 due to issues with dishonoured cheques. From next month, property tax payments must be made digitally through UPI, wallets, demand drafts, pay orders, or any online payment gateway, according to a statement from the civic body.

"Due to legal issues arising from dishonoured cheques, property tax payments through this medium will be discontinued starting July," the statement read.

The MCD also urged property owners and occupiers of vacant land and buildings to pay their tax for the year 2024-25 and receive a 10 per cent rebate on lump sum payments made before June 30.

For tax payments, property owners or occupiers can log onto www.mcdonline.nic.in.

According to section 114 of the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Act, 2003, all buildings and vacant land within the jurisdiction of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi are liable to pay property tax.

Delhi Urban Development Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj has written to the chief secretary requesting a status report on the desilting of various drains within seven days, as the monsoon season approaches, according to a letter released on Wednesday. Bharadwaj expressed disappointment over the alleged lack of preparedness for the upcoming monsoon, highlighting last season's waterlogging issues.

"As the monsoon season is approaching fast, I had directed you to provide the desilting status of various drains and other related information within a week's time. It is very unfortunate that no such information or response from your side has been received to date on such a serious and urgent issue," he stated in the letter.

Delhi University secured the top spot among central universities in India in QS Rankings 2025, moving up to seventh place nationwide from ninth last year. Globally, DU advanced 79 ranks, reaching 328th, up from 407th in 2023. Singh attributed this progress to the contributions of faculty and students to the academic environment and nation-building. 

Delhi University Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh congratulated students and teachers for the varsity's improved performance

The Aam Aadmi Party on Wednesday said the victory margins were narrow in Delhi this time even though the city preferred to elect the BJP in general elections as it has been doing since 2014, news agency PTI reported.

Addressing a press conference, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sandeep Pathak said, "The INDIA bloc performed quite well despite the circumstances against them. In Delhi, the victory margins were narrow this time. Voters here prefer to vote for BJP in Lok Sabha polls and for AAP and other parties in Vidhan Sabha elections. They stuck to that pattern this time also."

Asserting that for them, the country is above the party, Pathak said the people of the country have made it clear that they will not tolerate any kind of dictatorship and hooliganism.

"On the one hand, BJP put in all its efforts. Even after that, it could not get a majority. On the other hand, INDIA bloc fought the elections in such adverse conditions and performed so well. For us, our country is more important than our party. We fought the elections together with strength. Our party is strong and is ready to fight for the country," he said.

The AAP-Congress alliance drew a blank in Delhi with BJP performing a clean sweep, just as it had done in the last Lok Sabha elections.

It may have had the desired impact nationally, but, in Delhi, the alliance between the Aam Aadmi Party and Congress fell way short of converting the higher, combined vote share of both into seats.

Issues ranging from the transfer of votes from one to the other, lack of coordination between their workers and the failure to inform the voter that the two bitter rivals were actually fighting the BJP together have been flagged as reasons for the BJP running away with the mandate in Delhi yet again.

What it did, however, was dent the BJP’s vote share. As per the Election Commission data, the party garnered a vote share of around 54%, down from 56% it got in 2019. Read full analysis here.

Of the 45,554 'None of the Above' (NOTA) votes cast in the seven city seats in the Lok Sabha elections, the North-West Delhi constituency recorded the highest number of such votes at 8,984, the Election Commission data shows.

In the constituency, BJP's Yogender Chandoliya won by a margin of 2,90,849 votes against Congress's Udit Raj, news agency PTI reported.

This election, however, saw a negligible dip in the total number of NOTA votes to 45,554 from 45,629 in 2019.

The lowest count of NOTA votes were cast in the New Delhi constituency where BJP's Bansuri Swaraj was pitted against AAP's Somnath Bharti. A total of 4,813 voters in the constituency opted for this option.

The NOTA option gives voters the choice to reject all candidates in the fray. It was incorporated into the electronic voting machine (EVM) in September 2013 following a Supreme Court verdict.

The Delhi High Court has said the AAP is entitled to space for a party office here like other national political parties and asked the Centre to take a decision on the issue within six weeks, news agency PTI reported.

Justice Subramonium Prasad observed that national political parties have the right to one housing unit from the general pool in Delhi for office use on payment of licence fee until they have acquired land for constructing their own.

"Pressure" or non-availability of a house in the general pool cannot be a reason for rejection of the request, the judge said. "The fact that there is a huge pressure cannot be the only reason for the Respondents to deny the Petitioner (AAP) its right to be allotted an accommodation from the GPRA for setting up its party office," the court said in its order.

"The Respondents are directed to consider the request of the Petitioner within six weeks from today and take a decision by passing a detailed order as to why even one housing unit from the GPRA (General Pool Residential Accommodation) cannot be allotted to the Petitioner when all other political parties have been allotted similar accommodation from the GPRA.

A city court has dismissed an application for interim bail on medical grounds moved by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a money laundering case related to the excise policy.

Special Judge Kaveri Baweja of the Rouse Avenue Courts directed Tihar jail authorities to take care of Kejriwal's medical needs in judicial custody.

The judge also extended Kejriwal's judicial custody till June 19.

The court is scheduled to take up on June 7 Kejriwal's application seeking default bail in the case. 

AAP leader Sandeep Pathak, in a press conference on Wednesday, emphasized that the Lok Sabha election results demonstrate the country's rejection of dictatorship and hooliganism. He noted that the election was a contest between Modi ji and the INDIA bloc, highlighting that Narendra Modi's party lost 63 seats and failed to secure a majority. Despite facing adverse conditions, including jailed Chief Ministers and raids, the INDIA bloc performed admirably. Pathak also said, ' This makes it clear that the people of the country will not tolerate anyone who tried to play with the Constitution'. 

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva expressed his gratitude, stating, "For the third time since 1972, the BJP has emerged victorious in the Delhi polls. I extend my heartfelt thanks to the people of Delhi for their overwhelming support. When I predicted that the BJP would win all seven seats, many were skeptical. However, I was confident that the moment AAP and Congress formed an alliance, it signaled a clear path for the BJP to sweep all seven seats."

Sachdeva also called upon the people of Delhi to support the BJP in establishing a double-engine government, emphasizing their aim to see the Lotus bloom in every Vidhan Sabha constituency across Delhi.

Delhi Fire Service Chief Atul Garg reported regarding the eye hospital fire incident, saying, 'Firefighters have not yet entered the eye hospital, and the exact number of patients inside remains unknown.'

A fire broke out at the Eye 7 hospital on Wednesday in Lajpat Nagar. 12 fire tenders rushed to the spot.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicts that Delhi is likely to experience a brief spell of rain on Wednesday, even as heatwave conditions persist in some areas. The department also forecasts temperatures ranging from a minimum of 31 degrees Celsius to a maximum of 43 degrees Celsius, with partly cloudy skies throughout the day.

Union Minister and BJP MP from Nagpur, Nitin Gadkari, arrived in Delhi early Wednesday for the scheduled NDA meeting. He expressed his gratitude, saying, "The people have placed their trust in me for the third time, giving me the opportunity to serve the country once again. I will use this mandate to work towards the development of our nation..."

A bomb threat email was received at DIAL office where it was claimed that there was a bomb inside Air Canada flight, scheduled to Toronto, on Tuesday. Inspections were carried out and nothing suspicious was found. 

According to the Election Commission website, BJP's Bansuri Swaraj won the New Delhi seat and defeated AAP's Somnath Bharti by a margin of over 78,000 votes. 

BJP's Ramvir Singh Bidhuri won the South Delhi seat and defeated AAP's Sahi Ram by a margin of 1,24,333 votes said EC.

The Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday said that BJP's Praveen Khandelwal won the Chandni Chowk seat, defeating Congress's J P Agarwal by a margin of 89,325 votes.

Express Photo by Abhinav Saha

"It is a very good feeling that the party has shown trust in us and the people of our area gave a lot of confidence, especially in the situation when I was attacked by the candidate, and AAP leader and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal saying that they need to defeat Rinkiya's father, they were saying to defeat the father of a daughter. All these things are in my mind, but my character is different," Tiwari said.

"I do not attack or talk below the belt. I want to remain very moderate in my life and may be that is the return of whatever decision is coming. I will serve the people of my area with this character," he added.

On Tuesday, BJP surged ahead in all seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi, with its candidate Yogender Chandoliya leading by over 2.08 lakh votes in North-West Delhi, as per Election Commission trends.

Three BJP contenders lead by margins exceeding a lakh votes.

Celebrations erupted at counting centres, signalling likely victories over AAP-Congress rivals. At Gole Market's Atal Adarsh Balika Vidyalaya, BJP workers, carrying shaving kits, hinted at AAP's Somnath Bharti's earlier pledge to shave his head if Modi retained office, made after June 1 exit polls.

The Aam Aadmi Party today said that despite facing adverse circumstances, their candidates gave a tough challenge to the BJP in Delhi. 

"In Delhi, we gave strong fight to BJP and the margins are narrow this time (as compared to 2019)," said party MP Sanjay Singh.

BJP candidates leading in all seven seats of NCT Delhi till 4 pm today

Chandani Chowk- Praveen Khandelwal by 46,654 votes

New Delhi -Bansuri Swaraj by 61,415 votes

North West Delhi-Yogender Chandolia by 1,98,800 votes
 
West Delhi-Kamaljeet Sehrawat by139603 votes

South Delhi-Ramvir Singh Bidhuri by106700 votes
 
East Delhi-Harsha Malhotra by 57359 votes

North East Delhi-Manoj Tiwari by 125453 votes

BJP candidate from North East Delhi Manoj Tiwari on Tuesday thanked PM Modi and the people of the constituency he contested from for his performance in the Lok Sabha Polls. 

"I would like to thank PM Modi, top leadership and the people of the constituency. They all have blessed me well. We are winning all the seven seats of Delhi. We are forming the govt in the country as well. Certainly, it's not something that we have expected but this tally will increase and we will cross 300...NDA is united and will move forward together in the service of the people of the country," he said. 

Tiwari is contesting against Congress' Kanhaiya Kumar and is currently leading by a margin of 1,27,271 votes. 

BJP's North West Delhi candidate Yogendra Chandolia today said, "I am ahead with 1 lakh 25 thousand, this margin will increase. BJP is leading with a big margin on all seven seats in Delhi. PM Modi will become the PM for the third time... As the counting moves ahead, there is no doubt that we will cross our last tally. Fight seems to be there but we will form the govt..."

In Gurgaon, Rao Inderjit of the BJP is leading by 46,197 votes. He is contesting against Raj Babbar of the Congress party.

From Gautam Buddh Nagar BJP candidate Mahesh Sharma leading with 4,04,091 votes. 

From Ghaziabad Atul Garg of the BJP is leading with 1,87,832 vote

Currently. BJP's Dr Mahesh Sharma is leading by 3,01,122 votes from Gautam Buddh Nagar.

In the 2019 elections, BJP's Mahesh Sharma retained the seat by defeating BSP's Satveer Nagar by nearly four lakh votes. In the 2014 elections, Sharma won by almost three lakh votes against Narendra Bhati of the Samajwadi Party.

Nearly 60 per cent of vote counting is done for Delhi Lok Sabha Polls, informs an election commission official. The counting began at 8 am this morning and after 12 rounds the BJP is leading in all 7 seats in the capital. 

Praveen Khandelwal (Chandni Chowk) by 28767 votes

Manoj Tiwari (Northeast Delhi) by 1,22,904 votes

Harsh Malhotra (East Delhi) by 26,142 votes

Bansuri Swaraj (New Delhi) by 39,165 votes

Kamaljeet Sehrawat by 1,11,919 votes

Yogender Chandoliya (North West Delhi) by 1,41,035 votes

Ramvir Singh Bidhuri (South Delhi) by 86283

BJP candidate Bansuri Swaraj is leading by 31,594 from the New Delhi constituency. She was fighting against AAP's Somnath Bharti. 

The choice of Bansuri (daughter of late BJP leader Sushma Swaraj) had initially taken many by surprise, including those in the BJP, not just because she is a virtual newcomer to politics, but also because the BJP top brass had picked a newbie for the high-profile New Delhi seat. This, despite Sushma being a protege of L K Advani, who had opposed Narendra Modi’s projection as the party’s prime ministerial candidate in 2014.

Bansuri entered politics with her appointment as co-convenor of the Delhi BJP’s legal department in March 2023.

The lowest margin is in the East Delhi constituency of 21,604 votes. Harsh Malhotra of the BJP is leading. He is contesting against Kuldeep Kumar of the Aam Aadmi Party. 

BJP's Dr Mahesh Sharma is leading by 3,01,122 votes from Gautam Buddh Nagar. In the 2019 elections, BJP's Mahesh Sharma retained the seat by defeating BSP's Satveer Nagar by nearly four lakh votes. In the 2014 elections, Sharma won by almost three lakh votes against Narendra Bhati of the Samajwadi Party.

While Congress party's Raj Babbar was leading in Gurgaon by a good margin until a few hours ago, the BJP's Rao Inderjit Singh has now taken over and he is leading by 1,105 votes. 

Congress' Raj Babbar's lead has gone down to 4, 190 votes now in Gurgaon. 

Congress Raj Babbar leads by 23,218 votes in Gurgaon and BJP's Krishan Pal is ahead with a margin of 96,802 votes in Faridabad.

BJP still leading in all seven seats in Delhi:

Praveen Khandelwal (Chandni Chowk) by 19,120 votes

Manoj Tiwari (Northeast Delhi) by 78,399 votes

Bansuri Swaraj (New Delhi) by 25,448 votes

Harsh Malhotra (East Delhi) by 22,168 votes

Yogender Chandoliya (North West Delhi) by 92,252 votes

Kamaljeet Sehrawat (West Delhi) by 64,777 votes

Ramvir Singh Bidhuri (South Delhi) by 57,955 votes

New Delhi often witnesses a tough political battle between the BJP and AAP, with national issues taking center stage. For the first time, Congress is abstaining from contesting in this seat due to its alliance with AAP.

Chandni Chowk, characterised by a mix of traditional voters and business communities, frequently witnesses closely contested elections between the BJP and Congress.

East Delhi, renowned for its diverse electorate, becomes the battleground for a significant clash between AAP and BJP.

In South Delhi, a rapidly developing area, BJP and AAP clash over urban development and infrastructure issues.

North East Delhi, a crucial seat with a blend of urban and rural voters, typically becomes a contest between BJP and Congress.

West Delhi, known as BJP’s stronghold, sees AAP's growing influence, making it a competitive seat focusing on urban issues.

North West Delhi, reserved for SC candidates, witnesses intense competition between BJP and AAP, with a focus on social justice and development.

While the BJP is leading on all 7 seats in the capital, the lowest vote margin is between the candidates in East Delhi. BJP Candidate Harsh Malhotra leading by only 9124 votes. 

Indian alliance candidate Kanhaiya Kumar is trailing by 66,583 votes. He was up against BJP's Manoj Tiwari in Northeast Delhi seat. 

This was Kanhaiya’s second attempt at a Parliamentary contest after unsuccessfully going up against Union Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister, Giriraj Singh, on a Communist Party of India (CPI) ticket from Bihar’s Begusarai Lok Sabha seat in 2019.

After seven rounds of counting, BJP candidates are leading in all 7 seats of Delhi. BJP’s Manoj Tiwari is leading in North East Delhi by more than 45,000 votes.

BJP's Chandini Chowk Candidate Praveen Khandelwal takes the lead. He is ahead by 13,941 votes. He is fighting Congress party’s Jai Prakash Agarwal from the constituency.

Yogender Chandoliya  (North West Delhi) is leading 74,415 votes, the highest margin so far. 

BJP is currently leading in all 7 seats in Delhi: 

Praveen Khandelwal (Chandni Chowk) by 3,895 votes

Harsh Malhotra (East Delhi) picked up, leading by 14,457 votes

Bansuri Swaraj (New Delhi) by 18,480 votes

Manoj Tiwari (Northeast Delhi) by 47, 968 votes

Yogender Chandoliya (North West Delhi) by 65, 344 votes

Ramvir Singh Bidhuri (South Delhi)  by 20868

Kamaljeet Sehrawat (West Delhi) by 35817

In Ghaziabad, BJP’s Atul Garg is leading by over 53,000 votes. 

Returning to Gurgaon, though Congress' Raj Babbar is still leading, the margin between him and Rao Inderjit is decreasing. Singh is now trailing by 33,505 votes. 

In Gautam Buddha Nagar, BJP incumbent Mahesh Sharma is leading by 1.7 lakh votes. In the 2019 elections, BJP's Mahesh Sharma retained the seat by defeating BSP's Satveer Nagar by nearly four lakh votes. In the 2014 elections, Sharma won by almost three lakh votes against Narendra Bhati of the Samajwadi Party.

Praveen Khandelwal (Chandni Chowk) is leading by 1830 votes 

Manoj Tiwari (Northeast Delhi) by 47968 votes 

Harsh Malhotra (East Delhi) by 6751 

Bansuri Swaraj (New Delhi) by 15186

Kamaljeet Sehrawat (West Delhi) --34184 

Yogender Chandoliya (North West Delhi)  by 63732 votes 

Ramvir Singh Bidhuri (South Delhi) by 22571 votes

It's a nail-biting race in Delhi's Chandni Chowk, with BJP candidate Praveen Khandelwal now leading by just 1 vote. This puts the BJP ahead in all 7 seats once again.

BJP North West Candidate Yogesh Chandolia leading by the highest votes 54,691. 

According to early trends, BJP candidates are leading in 6 out of 7 seats in Delhi. The Congress party’s Jai Prakash Agarwal is giving a tough fight to BJP’s Praveen Khandelwal from Chandni Chowk constituency. Agarwal is leading by 2,532 votes.

The BJP is again leading in all seven seats of Delhi. Congress's J P Agarwal who had given the party a lead from Chandni Chowk is now trailing by almost 200 votes. 

Congress's Raj Babbar is leading by 42,650 votes. So far, Babbar has secured 59.06 per cent votes.

Gurgaon constituency consists of nine assembly segments. Raj Babbar's lead is from the three assembly segments in Nuh where four rounds of counting have been completed. Rao Inderjit Singh has secured more votes than Babbar in Gurgaon segments after the first round. 

Meanwhile, BJP's Krishan Pal Gurjar by 15,166 in Faridabad.

Raju Bhatt came from Kathputli Colony to earn his day's wages by playing the dhol in party offices. But when he came to the AAP office, he was turned away. "I was told that since their leader is in jail, they will not celebrate. I'm going to the BJP office now, at least I'll earn 500 to 1000 rupees there," Bhatt says.

The only seat where the INDIA bloc is leading in Delhi is the Chandni Chowk seat. Congress party’s Jai Prakash Agarwal is leading from here by 4240 votes. 

The constituency encompasses Adarsh Nagar, Shalimar Bagh, Shakur Basti, Tri Nagar, Wazirpur, Model Town, Sadar Bazar, Chandni Chowk, Matia Mahal, and Ballimaran assembly segments.

Chandni Chowk has seen a dynamic political history, with leaders from various parties representing it. Dr. Harsh Vardhan from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) served as the MP since 2014. Following his retirement from active politics, the BJP has nominated Praveen Khandelwal this time.