BJP secures victory in MCD ward committee elections

The BJP emerged victorious in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s (MCD) ward committee elections, winning seven out of the 12 zonal ward committees, while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) secured the remaining five zones.

Despite early trends suggesting a potential win for the AAP — which had claimed four zones by midday — the BJP managed to take the lead as the day progressed. By the end of the elections, the BJP secured victories in the Keshav Puram zone, Najafgarh zone, Shahdara South zone, Shahdara North zone, Civil Lines zone, Central zone and the Narela zone. Meanwhile, the AAP won in the South zone, West zone, Rohini zone, Karol Bagh zone and City SP zone.

The elections, held through secret ballot as per the Delhi Municipal Corporation Regulations of 1958, were marked by intense competition. Voting took place for nine of the 12 zonal-level ward committees, where councillors elected a chairman, deputy chairman and one standing committee member each for the MCD’s highest decision-making body. Elections were not held in three zones — Karol Bagh, City SP and Keshav Puram — due to the absence of opposition candidates from either BJP or AAP.

In the Karol Bagh zone, AAP councillor Rakesh Joshi was elected unopposed as chairman, with Jyoti Gautam and Ankush Narang securing the posts of deputy chairman and standing committee member, respectively. Similarly, in the City SP zone, AAP’s Mohd Sadiq, Kiran Bala and Punardeep Singh Sawhney were elected unopposed as chairman, deputy chairman and standing committee member.

BJP candidates also won unopposed in the Keshav Puram zone. Rohini and West zones, two key areas, were claimed by the AAP. In the Rohini zone, AAP’s Suman Anil Rana defeated her BJP rival to win the chairman’s post, while Dharm Rakshak and Daulat were elected as deputy chairman and standing committee member, respectively, after BJP candidates withdrew their nominations.

In the West zone, the withdrawal of BJP nominations led to AAP councillors Sahib Kumar, Manju Setia and Parveen Kukar being elected as chairman, deputy chairman and standing committee member, respectively.

The Najafgarh zone saw BJP councillors Amit Kharkhari, Sunita and Inderjeet Sehrawat securing victory. In the Shahdara South zone, BJP’s Sandeep Kapoor, Sanjeev Kukar Singh and Neema Bhagat won. Pramod Gupta, Ritesh Suji and Satyapal Singh of the BJP claimed victory in the Shahdara North zone. In the Civil Lines zone, BJP’s Anil Kumar Tyagi, Rekha and Leader of Opposition Raja Iqbal Singh emerged victorious, with Singh taking a standing committee seat.

In the Central and Narela zones, BJP’s Sugandh, Sharad Kapoor, Rajpal Singh, Pawan Kumar, Babita and Anju Devi won. The AAP claimed the South zone, with Krishan Jakhar, Raj Bala Tokas and Prem Chauhan winning their respective posts.

The long-delayed ward committee elections, the first since the unification of MCD in 2022, were initially stalled due to a political deadlock between the AAP and the BJP, leading to a legal battle. Anticipating a tense face-off between the two parties, security was beefed up at the Civic Centre in central Delhi, with paramilitary personnel and local police ensuring a peaceful election process.

Mayor Oberoi, who refused to appoint presiding officers for the ward committee polls, on Wednesday said the election would be considered “null and void”.

Till Tuesday evening, there was a cloud of uncertainty over the ward committee polls as Oberoi had refused to appoint the presiding officers to conduct the elections.

However, in a last-minute intervention, L-G VK Saxena late Tuesday night asked the MCD Commissioner to notify deputy commissioners of all zones as presiding officers, paving way for the elections to take place.

Poll not held in 3 zones

• Voting took place for nine of the 12 zonal-level ward committees
• Elections were not held in three zones — Karol Bagh, City SP and Keshav Puram — due to the absence of opposition candidates from either BJP or AAP
• The BJP bagged Narela, Civil Lines, Keshav Puram, Shahdara North, Najafgarh, Shahdara South, and Central Zones, while AAP won Karol Bagh, West, South, City SP and and Rohini zones.