MCD bypoll results: BJP retains seven seats, AAP gets 2, Congress 1

Of the nine seats previously held by the BJP, the party retained six, while the Naraina and Mundka seats went to the AAP and Congress won Sangam Vihar-A

The by-election results for 12 wards of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on Wednesday delivered a mixed verdict, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) winning seven seats, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) three, and the Indian National Congress (INC) and the All India Forward Bloc (AIFB) one each — a outcome that saw both gains and losses for the BJP and AAP in each other’s strongholds.

Delhi BJP leaders celebrate with sweets the victory in Municipal Corporation of Delhi on Wednesday. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo)

Of the 12 wards, nine were earlier held by the BJP and three by the AAP.

Of the nine seats previously held by the BJP, the party retained six, while the Naraina and Mundka seats went to the AAP and Sangam Vihar-A was won by the Congress. The Chandni Chowk and Chandni Mahal wards, both earlier held by the AAP, went to the BJP and the AIFB respectively, with the AAP holding on to Dakshinpuri.

Significantly, the BJP maintained its hold over the Shalimar Bagh-B and Dwarka-B wards, earlier represented by now Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta and West Delhi member of Parliament Kamaljeet Sehrawat.

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said the victory in seven of 12 wards showed that “the city’s residents continue to think of BJP as their first choice”. He added, “The BJP fought the MCD by-elections in full seriousness, and made an effort to promote women’s leadership by fielding eight women candidates from a total of 12. We are pleased that the people of Delhi appreciated our push for women’s political empowerment by electing six of these eight candidates.”

With the latest results, the MCD now has 123 BJP councillors, 101 from the AAP, 15 from the Indraprastha Vikas Party, nine from the Congress, one from the AIFB and one independent. Eleven of the 12 wards fell vacant earlier this year after their councillors were elected to the Delhi Assembly, including now chief minister Rekha Gupta from Shalimar Bagh-B , while Dwarka-B had been vacant since 2024 when former councillor Kamaljeet Sehrawat was elected to Parliament from West Delhi.

The by-polls were the first electoral test after the BJP’s strong showing in the Assembly elections earlier this year.

The AAP , meanwhile, claimed that the results showed the BJP had “failed the litmus test”, pointing to the reduction in its tally. “In just 10 months, the public’s trust is once again rapidly returning towards the Aam Aadmi Party… the people of Delhi have made it clear through their mandate that the public support… is continuously strengthening towards the AAP,” party chief Arvind Kejriwal said.

The AAP also alleged that the BJP had manipulated votes in Ashok Vihar. “The Election Commission website had already declared the results, and the BJP had lost Ashok Vihar by 179 votes. But later, some manipulation was done and the defeated BJP candidate was shown as the winner in Ashok Vihar,” said AAP’s Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj. He added that despite the alleged “dishonesty”, the BJP’s overall tally has fallen, which is a “major political setback” for the saffron party.

Sachdeva dismissed the allegations as baseless and reflective of AAP’s frustration. Citing AAP’s narrow win in Naraina, he said, “The people of Delhi are shocked that a party which lost Ashok Vihar by 405 votes and itself won Naraina by only 148 votes is questioning the BJP’s victory in Ashok Vihar.”

Delhi Congress president Devender Yadav said the INC had improved its performance and noted the dip in vote shares of both the BJP and the AAP. “After the results of these by-elections, it has come to the fore that the people are once again looking towards the Congress… while our vote percentage has doubled from 6.18% to 13.44%, the vote percentage of the BJP has fallen by 2% and that of the Aam Aadmi Party by 8%,” he said.