PTI
New Delhi, 7 December
Aam Aadmi’s party won the MCD polls with 134 seats on Wednesday, ending 15 years of BJP rule in the prestigious civic institution and reducing Congress to just nine seats out of 250 chambers.
In his first post-victory speech, a jubilant Arvind Kejriwal vowed to improve civic facilities in the nation’s capital and sought the “blessing” of the center and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make it happen.
The BJP, which was projected to suffer a crushing defeat in the polls, put up a tough fight, winning 104 municipal divisions, while the Congress managed to win only nine, down from 30 in the previous civic poll. Three independents also won.
Addressing party workers in the League’s office, the prime minister said the civic body would get rid of “corruption and bribery”.
His deputy Manish Sisodia also thanked the voters in Delhi and said it was their mandate that helped the League defeat “the largest and most negative party in the world”.
The counting of votes began at 8 am in 42 centers across Delhi amid tight security, and the initial trends were in favor of the BJP. At one point, the Bharatiya Janata Party was leading with 107 seats and the Aam Aadmi Party with 95 seats.
But as the count progressed, the AAP overtook the BJP and slowly extended its lead, eventually winning by 134 wards. The BJP got 104 seats, thus not losing what the polls had predicted.
Independent candidate Shakila Begum won the Silampur seat in North East Delhi.
AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said the 10-year-old party had barely “beaten” the country’s largest party (BJP) in their stronghold. “The results prove once again that the AAP is an honest and hard-line party. Singh also said the results were remarkable considering that the BJP fired all the shots, deploying all its senior leaders, including 17 central ministers, for the campaign.
BJP Delhi President Adesh Gupta said, “Despite 15 years of anti-incumbency, we are doing better. We have worked for the people of Delhi in municipal enterprises, but some people may be unhappy. However, there was no Rage against the BJP The mood in the AAP office on Rouse Avenue had been festive since the morning as patriotic songs blared from the loudspeakers and the entire building was decorated with colorful balloons.
As the pendulum swung in favor of the AAP, celebrations spread as supporters carried party flags handing out candy and dancing to the beat of drums.
Supporters and leaders including Gopal Rai, Atichi and Durgesh Pathak began to gather in the office as the count progressed and the numbers shifted in favor of the AAP.
Boards reading “acche honge 5 saal, MCD mein bhi Kejriwal (The next five years will be as good as MCD Kejriwal came)” were lined up as fans celebrated with the official AAP poll song “MCD mein Arvind Kejriwal”.
Addressing AAP workers in the party office, Kejriwal fought for positive politics in the country to ensure that India becomes the number one country in the world.
“We all need to improve Delhi and I need everyone’s cooperation including BJP and Congress. We need everyone’s cooperation, especially the help and blessing of the Center and the Chief Minister to achieve this.
With the defeat in the MCD polls, the BJP’s 15-year reign in the civilian body came to an end. Defeat would also threaten the BJP’s efforts to weaken the League’s political dominance in Delhi and hurt its chances in the 2025 assembly elections.
The party ruled Delhi for 15 years under Prime Minister Sheila Dikshit, but ceded space to the AAP after 2013. The party failed to win a single seat in Delhi in two polls conducted by the Lok Sabha and several assembly elections between 2014 and 2020.
The BJP defeated both the AAP and the Congress and won 181 of the 272 districts in three municipalities in the 2017 elections. In its civic polls for the first time, the AAP won 48 and 30 districts in the Congress.
Earlier this year, the center consolidated MCD’s three municipal institutions for a total of 250 neighborhoods.
#Aam Aadmi AAP Party #BJP #Congress
