AAP wrests MCD, ends 15-yr BJP rule

New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party on Wednesday won the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections with 134 seats, ending the 15-year rule of the BJP in the civic body, an outcome that will further impact the ongoing power tussle between the two parties in the national capital. The BJP bagged 104 seats while the Congress was reduced to nine in the 250-member municipal corporation. In his first address after the victory, an elated Arvind Kejriwal thanked the Delhiites and vowed to improve civic amenities in the national capital.

He sought the "blessings" of the Centre and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to achieve that. In a closer-than-expected contest, the BJP, which bucked the trend predicted by exit polls, put up a spirited fight, winning 104 municipal wards, while the Congress managed to win just nine seats, down from 30 in the previous civic poll. Three independents also won. The BJP also managed to increase its vote share by three per cent as compared to the polls in 2017.

It received 39.09 per cent of the total votes polled while AAP's share also soared from 21.09 per cent to 42.05 per cent, according to the State Election Commission data. In his address to party workers at the AAP office, the chief minister said the civic body will be rid of "corruption and bribery".

His deputy Manish Sisodia thanked the voters of Delhi and said it was their mandate that helped the AAP defeat the "world's biggest and most negative party". The counting of votes began at 8 am at 42 centers across Delhi amid tight security, and initial trends were in favour of the BJP, which showed leads in 107 seats as compared to AAP's 95. But as the counting progressed, the AAP went past the BJP and slowly consolidated the lead in the election, first after the MCD reunification earlier this year.

AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said the barely 10-year-old party has "defeated" the largest party of the country (BJP) in its stronghold. "The results have once again proved the AAP is a hardcore honest party." Singh also said the results were remarkable considering the BJP had gone all guns blazing, deploying all its top leaders, including 17 central ministers, for campaigning. According to political analysts, the defeat in the MCD polls is expected to impact the BJP's efforts to weaken the AAP's political dominance in Delhi and its chances in the 2025 assembly polls. Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta said,"despite 15 years of anti-incumbency, our performance is better. We worked for the people of Delhi at the municipal corporations but maybe some people were not happy. There was no anger against the BJP though."

Meanwhile, BJP IT department head Amit Malviya also suggested that the mayor's election is still an open game and noted that Chandigarh, where its rival was the largest party, has a mayor from BJP ranks. "Now over to electing a mayor for Delhi. It will all depend on who can hold the numbers in a close contest, which way the nominated councillors vote etc. Chandigarh has a BJP mayor, for instance," he said in a tweet. Delhi BJP spokesperson Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga also claimed that the city will again have a mayor from his party. Asked whether the BJP will have its mayor in the MCD, Gupta said, "anything can happen".