BJP wins 7 wards, AAPsecures 3 in MCD bypolls

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged victorious in seven of the 12 wards while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) secured three and the Congress and the All India Forward Bloc won one each as the State Election Commission (SEC) declared the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) bypoll results on Wednesday.

According to the SEC, the bypolls recorded a voter turnout of 38.5%, marking the first major electoral contest among the BJP, AAP, and Congress since the Assembly election in February. The commission noted that counting across 10 centres was “conducted smoothly, with all necessary arrangements in place to ensure fairness and transparency”.

Of the 2,69,992 votes cast, the BJP secured 45.09%, followed by AAP with 34.97%, and the Congress with 13.44%. Thirteen independent candidates together received about 1% of the votes while NOTA accounted for 0.96%.

The BJP retained both seats previously held by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and party MP Kamaljeet Sherawat, each with significant margins. In Shalimar Bagh-B (women), the Chief Minister’s former ward, BJP candidate Anita Jain clinched victory by 10,101 votes, the highest margin across all wards. In Dwarka-B (women), the seat vacated after Ms. Sherawat became an MP in May 2024, Manisha Devi won by 9,100 votes.

Close contest

The Naraina (general) ward registered one of the closest fights, with AAP’s Rajan Arora defeating the BJP candidate by just 148 votes. All five seats reserved for women were won by the BJP.

The bypolls were held on November 30 after 11 councillors were elected as MLAs in February and one as an MP, leaving 12 seats vacant in the 250-member MCD House.

Of these seats, nine were previously held by the BJP and three by AAP.

In the final tally, the BJP managed to retain only six of its nine seats but gained control of the key AAP-held ward, Chandni Chowk. The ruling party, however, lost Sangam Vihar-A to the Congress. AAP won in Naraina and Mundka and retained its Dakshinpuri seat.

AAP, however, suffered a setback in Chandni Mahal, where All India Forward Bloc candidate Mohd. Imran won by over 4,000 votes. Chandni Mahal had recorded the highest voter turnout of 55.93%. Mr. Imran is the brother-in-law of former AAP MLA Shoaib Iqbal; he contested on an All India Forward Bloc ticket after AAP denied him a nomination, resulting in his resignation from the party.

Final standings

Following the results, the BJP continues to hold a comfortable majority in the House with 123 councillors. AAP’s tally has risen to 101 while Congress stands at nine and the Indraprastha Vikas Party at 15.

The House also includes one independent councillor and one from the Left.

In the 2022 bypolls, AAP had won 134 wards, the BJP secured 104, the Congress emerged victorious in nine, while Independents won three.