BJP wins 7 seats in MCD bypolls, AAP secures three

New Delhi, Dec 3 (IANS) The results of the bypolls held in 12 Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) wards were declared on Wednesday, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) winning seven seats and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) securing three. The Congress also opened its account in the civic body, winning the Sangam Vihar-A seat.

Rekha Rani of the BJP won from Ward No. 128, Dichaon Kalan, while Sarla Chaudhary secured victory in Ward No. 198, Vinod Nagar. Veena Asija won from Ward No. 65, Ashok Vihar, and Suman Kumar Gupta emerged victorious in Ward No. 74, Chandni Chowk. Additionally, Anita Jain of the BJP clinched Ward No. 56, Shalimar Bagh.

From the remaining seats, Anjum Mandal won from Greater Kailash, and Manisha Devi secured the Dwarka B seat for the BJP.

The AAP won three seats, with Ram Swaroop Kanojia winning in Dakshin Puri, Anil securing the Mundka seat, and Rajan Arora winning from Naraina.

Suresh Chaudhary of the Congress won from Sangam Vihar Ward 163A, while Mohammad Imran of the All India Forward Bloc secured victory in Chandni Mahal.

Of the 12 wards where voting took place on November 30, nine were previously held by the BJP and the remaining by the AAP. The voter turnout stood at 38.51 per cent, which was lower than the 50.47 per cent recorded during the 2022 MCD elections held across 250 wards.

Ten counting centres were established at Kanjhawala, Pitampura, Bharat Nagar, Civil Lines, Rouse Avenue, Dwarka, Najafgarh, Gole Market, Pushp Vihar, and Mandawali. Each centre managed counting for designated wards and was equipped with secure strong rooms and controlled access points, the State Election Commission said in a statement.

Before the bypolls, the 250-member MCD House consisted of 115 BJP members, 99 from AAP, 15 from Indraprastha Vikas Party, and 8 from the Congress. The bypolls were seen as the first major electoral test for the BJP following its recent Assembly election victory. Meanwhile, the AAP and Congress viewed the contest as an opportunity to strengthen their position in the national capital.

A total of 51 candidates, including 26 women, contested in the bypolls. The BJP fielded the highest number of women candidates at eight, followed by AAP with six and Congress with five.

Nearly 1,800 Delhi Police personnel and 10 paramilitary companies were deployed for the bypoll arrangements. Around 700 staff were assigned for vote counting, and adequate facilities were provided to candidates and their authorised agents, the Commission added.

–IANS

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