In the MCD election, Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP wins handily
Elections for the Delhi Municipal Corporation (MCD) were held on December 4 following a postponement due to the centre combining the three MCD entities.
In the 2022 MCD election, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) declared an unequivocal victory against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Exit polls had placed the BJP, which governs the city civic body, in a distant second place, giving chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP, which controls the city administration, a decisive victory.
The BJP was initially neck-and-neck and occasionally even ahead, but the AAP rallied and started progressively edging ahead, defying the first trends that predicted otherwise.
Shortly after the AAP’s victory was announced, Delhi’s deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia tweeted his “heartfelt appreciation” to the city’s voters..
He declared, “The people of Delhi have made a staunchly honest and hard-working Arvind Kejriwal ji win by defeating the world’s biggest and most negative party.”
“This is a significant duty for us, not just a victory,”
Recent MCD election results:
The AAP has won 131 seats, according to the Delhi State Election Commission, and was leading in three more as of 2:30 p.m. With 102 votes, the BJP was leading in one.
Eight victories and two leads belonged to the Congress.
In three wards, independent candidates had prevailed.
Following an unpopular redrawing of boundaries earlier this year that resulted in the removal of 22 seats, the Delhi Municipal Corporation now has 250 seats, or wards. The cut-off point for majority is 126.
Both BJP and AAP declare victories.
MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj predicted that the AAP would win 180, or even 230, seats. “There will be more than 180. If the public supports us, we can also pass 230. Our party will have the mayor. Exit polls, in my opinion, support AAP.”
Aaley Mohammad Iqbal of the AAP won the Chandi Mahal seat by the largest winning margin (so far) recorded, 17,134 votes.
Timsy Sharma of the AAP scored a significant victory when she won the Jahangirpuri ward, the scene of racial unrest in April.
Background
The two major parties ran tense election campaigns in Delhi, and their top leaders, including union ministers and chief ministers of other states, canvassed neighbourhoods for votes and public support.
Since 2007, the BJP has controlled the Delhi MCD, and since 2013, the AAP has been in power. Even after losing the Assembly election, the saffron party has historically performed well in the civic elections in Delhi.
The New Delhi, South Delhi, and East Delhi bodies from 2012 were reduced to 250 and reunified into one in May; this is the first election following ward redistricting and municipal corporations merging; there were 272 and three in 2012.
In 2017, there were 270 wards up for election; 181 of those were won by the BJP, 48 by the AAP, and 30 by the Congress.