MCD bypolls: With wins in 3 wards, Kejriwal says public’s trust returning to AAP

AAP Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj in a press conference, meanwhile, hit out at Chief Minister Reka Gupta and alleged she failed her first test after being in power for nine months.

MCD उपचुनाव के यह परिणाम बताते हैं कि बीजेपी की उल्टी गिनती शुरू हो गई है। दिल्ली वाले रेखा गुप्ता सरकार से नाराज हैं और अब दिल्ली को नया मुख्यमंत्री मिलने वाला है। @Sanjeev_aap pic.twitter.com/foPxRvHHnB

— Aam Aadmi Party Delhi (@AAPDelhi) December 3, 2025

“This MCD election was a test of CM Rekha Gupta’s political existence. To save herself and the party, she went multiple times to every ward,” he alleged. “Delhi will soon get a new Chief Minister,” he added.

Bharadwaj also accused the BJP of manipulating the final vote count in the Ashok Vihar ward. “Even a day before the election, she [Rekha Gupta] went to the Ashok Vihar ward and distributed free cylinders. The official election website showed that AAP had won the seat with a margin of 179 votes, but in the end, BJP won,” he claimed.

According to the vote count, up to the ninth round, the AAP candidate was leading by 422 votes, closely followed by the BJP. However, in the final round, BJP won with a margin of 405 votes.

“The BJP’s tally reduced this time. It lost Parvesh Sahib Singh’s village, Mundka, to AAP,” Bharadwaj added.

Clearing the air around the party’s decision to not give a ticket to former AAP MLA Shoaib Iqbal’s brother-in-law — who eventually won from Chandni Mahal — Bharadwaj said the party chose its workers over dynasty politics. “Kejriwal had made a promise to the party workers that the AAP will only give tickets to them, despite MLAs and ex-MLAs pressuring the party.”