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BJP's Raja Iqbal Singh elected as the new Delhi mayor
Deck was already clear for a BJP victory as AAP boycotted the elections while Congress did not have the numbers to pose a challenge.
BJP's Raja Iqbal Singh was on Friday elected the new mayor of Delhi, prompting celebration among the party's councillors. He defeated Congress candidate Mandeep Singh.
With the AAP boycotting the election and the Congress reduced to a marginal presence, the BJP was expected to comfortably sweep the civic posts, solidifying its control over Delhi through the Centre, the nominated MLAs in the Assembly, and now the MCD.
Raja Iqbal Singh was the Leader of the Opposition in the MCD and had previously served as the mayor of North MCD.
"The main goal will be to improve the sanitation system of Delhi, remove the mountains of garbage, solve the problem of waterlogging, and provide all the basic and essential facilities to the people of Delhi. We will all work together with full dedication and hard work," Singh said after being elected.
Before being elected, Raja Iqbal Singh told PTI that Delhiites have entrusted the BJP with the responsibility of fixing the city's problems.
"AAP has already accepted its defeat. We will eliminate corruption and complete all the pending work that was stalled over the past two years," he said.
How did the BJP win the Delhi mayoral polls?
The current strength of the MCD is 238, as 12 seats lie vacant due to some councillors getting elected to the Delhi Assembly and one to the Lok Sabha.
Out of 250 seats, the BJP now has 117 councillors, up from 104 in 2022, while AAP's tally has dropped to 113 from its earlier 134. Congress holds just eight seats. With AAP out of the picture as far as the elections were concerned, a BJP victory was the only possible outcome.
The electoral college for the mayoral election included the 238 councillors, 10 MPs (seven from the Lok Sabha and three from the Rajya Sabha), and 14 MLAs. Delhi Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta had nominated 11 BJP and 3 AAP MLAs as the electors.
