The campaigning for the November 30 bypolls to 12 Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) wards concluded on Friday, setting the stage for ruling BJP’s first major electoral challenge after it emerged victorious in the February Assembly polls, winning 48 of the 70 seats and forming a government after 27 years in the Capital.
For the ruling party, the bypoll results on December 3 will also show whether it has been able to cement its hold over the civic body, which it had ruled for three consecutive terms before the AAP unseated it in 2022.
Of the 12 MCD wards going for polls, nine were earlier held by the BJP and three by the AAP. It will be a battle of prestige for the BJP in seats like Shalimar Bagh B, from where Chief Minister Rekha Gupta was a councillor before winning the Assembly election from the same Assembly constituency. Similarly, the Dwarka B constituency was vacated by BJP’s Kamaljeet Sehrawat after being elected to the Lok Sabha from the West Delhi seat.
In all, 51 candidates, including 26 women, are in the fray. The BJP has fielded eight women – the highest – while AAP has fielded six and Congress five.
At present, BJP has 116 councillors in the 250-member MCD House, while AAP has 99, Indraprastha Vikas Party 15 and Congress 8.
During the last MCD elections in 2022, AAP had secured a majority with 134 seats. The BJP bagged 104 seats, while Congress got nine. Three seats went to Independent candidates.
Since the anti-defection law does not apply to MCD councillors, frequent defections have changed the composition of the House over the last two years.
Mayor Raja Iqbal Singh said BJP is confident of winning all 12 seats. “People of Delhi have completely rejected the AAP, we can see the direct result… Purvanchalis have voted in large numbers in the Bihar polls for BJP. They will vote for our party here as well.”
The entire machinery of the BJP’s Delhi unit, including seven sitting Lok Sabha MPs, the chief minister and ministers of her government, party MLAs and MCD councillors, among others, have campaigned extensively in all the 12 wards.
The AAP campaign, meanwhile, was led by former Delhi Chief Minister Atishi, state president Saurabh Bharadwaj, Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh and former Delhi minister Gopal Rai. AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal did not take part in the campaign.
Of the 12 seats, while five are reserved for women, one is reserved for Scheduled Castes and the rest are general category seats.
The 12 vacant seats
# Mundka (54,525 voters)
# Shalimar Bagh B (66,397 voters)
# Ashok Vihar (56,697 voters)
# Chandni Chowk (44,166 voters)
# Chandni Mahal with 46,237 voters
# Dwarka B (66,184 voters)
# Dichaon Kalan (72,396 voters)
# Naraina (59,340 voters)
# Sangam Vihar A (59,365 voters)
# Dakshin Puri (61,636 voters)
# Greater Kailash (49,631 voters)
# Vinod Nagar (62,190 voters)
Polling booths: 580
Polling date: November 30
Counting date: December 3
Source: State Election Commission
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta campaign on Friday. (Express photo by Praveen Khanna) 
Share
