Notification issued for MCD bypolls in 12 wards; voting on November 30

Polling for the 12 wards under the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) will be held on November 30, and votes will be counted on December 3

The State Election Commission (SEC) on Monday issued the official notification to begin the process for by-elections in 12 municipal wards of Delhi, setting November 10 as the deadline for filing nominations.

The seats fell vacant earlier this year after 11 councillors were elected as MLAs to the Delhi assembly. The Dwarka-B seat has remained vacant since 2024, after former councillor Kamaljeet Sehrawat was elected to Parliament from West Delhi. (Representational image)

The bypolls will be held in the wards of Greater Kailash, Shalimar Bagh-B, Dwarka-B, Ashok Vihar, Chandni Chowk, Chandni Mahal, Dichaon Kalan, Naraina, Sangam Vihar-A, Dakshin Puri, Mundka, and Vinod Nagar.

A senior SEC official said the formal notice has been sent to political parties, and nominations can now be submitted to the returning officers between 11am and 3pm on all working days until the deadline. “There are three holidays during this period, and nominations will be accepted on the remaining days. Scrutiny of nomination papers will take place on November 12, while withdrawals can be made until November 15,” the official said, adding that no nominations were received on the opening day.

Polling for the 12 wards under the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) will be held on November 30, and votes will be counted on December 3. The seats fell vacant earlier this year after 11 councillors were elected as Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs). The Dwarka-B seat has remained vacant since 2024, after former councillor Kamaljeet Sehrawat was elected to Parliament from West Delhi.

Following the 2022 unification and delimitation exercise, the MCD comprises 250 wards. In the 2022 municipal elections, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) secured a majority with 134 seats, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 104, and the Congress bagged eight. However, after a series of defections and prolonged political and legal tussles, the BJP regained control of the corporation earlier this year.

A section of AAP’s breakaway councillors went on to form the Indraprastha Vikas Party (IVP), further weakening AAP’s position. The upcoming bypolls are likely to be viewed as an early test of political sentiment in the Capital following the assembly elections.

An MCD official said that as things stand, the BJP has 116 councillors, AAP has 98, IVP 15, the Congress eight, and one seat is held by an independent. Of the 12 vacant seats, nine were previously held by the BJP and three by AAP.

The SEC said it has adopted the electoral rolls of the corresponding Assembly constituencies for these wards, with January 1, 2025, as the qualifying date. To streamline the election process, it has also launched a mobile application, Nigam Chunav Delhi.