BJP Sweeps Delhi MCD Bypolls, Wins 7 Wards; AAP Takes 3, Congress Opens Account

NEW DELHI, Dec 3: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured a decisive victory in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) bypolls, winning 7 of the 12 wards, while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) bagged 3 seats. The Congress and the All India Forward Bloc (AIFB) won one seat each, marking a competitive outcome in the first major civic electoral test since the BJP came to power in Delhi earlier this year.

The counting of votes began at 8 am across 10 counting centres, amid heavy security arrangements. Nine of the seats that went to polls on November 30 were previously held by the BJP, with the remaining three under AAP’s control.

BJP registers strong gains

BJP’s Suman Kumar Gupta defeated AAP’s Harsh Sharma by 1,182 votes, while Anita Jain won the Shalimar Bagh B ward with a dominant margin of over 10,000 votes, retaining the seat vacated by Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta after the assembly polls.

The party also clinched victories in Dichaon Kalan, Greater Kailash and Dwarka-B, where BJP’s Manisha Rani defeated AAP’s Raj Bala by 9,100 votes.

AAP wins Mundka, Dakshinpuri; close fight in Naraina

AAP secured the Mundka and Dakshinpuri wards comfortably, and narrowly won the Naraina seat, where AAP’s Rajan Arora edged past BJP’s Chandrakanta Shivani by a slim margin of 148 votes.

Congress, Forward Bloc make inroads

In a notable win for the Congress, Suresh Choudhary clinched the Sangam Vihar A ward by defeating BJP’s Subhajeet Gautam, polling 12,766 votes against Gautam’s 9,138.

The All India Forward Bloc’s Mohd Imran won the Chandni Mahal seat, defeating AAP’s Mudassar Usman by 4,692 votes.

Low voter turnout compared to 2022

The bypolls recorded a 38.51% turnout, considerably lower than the 50.47% voter turnout in the 2022 MCD elections. Strong rooms housing EVMs were monitored round-the-clock with CCTV and paramilitary security.