MCD by-poll results: AAP wins 5 seats, Congress 4; BJP faces big loss
Celebrations filled the Delhi headquarters of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as the debutant bagged five of the 13 seats in the Delhi municipal by-polls on Tuesday. The Congress, which did not hold any ward and desperately needed a fillip, managed to bag four seats.
Celebrations filled the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)’s Delhi headquarters as it made its political debut in the Delhi municipal bypolls with five of the 13 seats on Tuesday. The Congress, which did not hold any ward and desperately needed a fillip, managed to win four seats.
The BJP, which held seven of the 13 seats after the 2012 municipal elections, had to settle for three seats.
The municipal corporation of Delhi (MCD) was trifurcated in 2012 and has been under the BJP for the last decade.
As many as 45.9% of the 6.68 lakh eligible voters exercised their franchise in the bypolls for MCD wards under south Delhi (7), north Delhi (4) and east Delhi (2).
As it happened | MCD by-poll results: AAP wins 5 seats, Cong - 4, BJP - 3, Ind - 1
Final seat tally
“MCD ruled by BJP-Cong. Outsider AAP wins max seats in byelection. Thnx Delhi for reaffirming faith. Ab MCD election mein sabhi seat jeetni (sic),” Kejriwal tweeted.
The AAP won in Vikas Nagar, Matiala, Nanakpura, Ballimaran and Tekhand, and the Congress won over Jhilmil, Khichripur, Qamaruddin Nagar and Munirka.
Bharti ward recorded the highest voter turnout.
The bypolls were mandated after 13 councillors were elected to the Delhi assembly in the 2013 and 2015 assembly polls. Nine wards remained unrepresented since December 2013, while the rest have been vacant since February 2015.
The Delhi high court on January 29 directed the Delhi poll panel to conduct the bypolls for all 13 vacant seats within three months. The court decision came after a resident of one of the wards filed a PIL in the matter, claiming development had been stalled and areas were suffering due to lack of basic amenities.
Nine of the 13 councillors are now AAP legislators. The other four became legislators on a BJP ticket in 2013, but lost in 2015.
With the municipal elections to the three corporations scheduled to be held in April next year, the bypolls are being seen as a semi-final to the main battle.
The bypolls are also being billed as a litmus test for AAP’s popularity.
The party’s Delhi secretary Dilip Pandey called the results a launchpad for the party.
Buoyed by its sweeping victory in the assembly polls last year, AAP began preparing for its grand debut in civic polls scheduled for 2017. The bypoll results give them a headstart.
The Delhi high court on January 29 directed the Delhi poll panel to conduct the bypolls for all 13 vacant seats within three months. The court decision came after a resident of one of the wards filed a PIL in the matter, claiming development had been stalled and areas were suffering due to lack of basic amenities.