BJP Wins 7 of 12 MCD By-Polls; AAP Takes 3

• BJP secures seven MCD by-poll seats, AAP wins three, Congress and AIFB bag one each.
• BJP loses two seats it previously held but retains overall control with 122 of 250 seats.
• AAP retains all its seats, including Naraina and Dakshinpuri; BJP flips Chandni Chowk.
• Congress wins Sangam Vihar A, AIFB takes Chandni Mahal in notable upsets.

GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 3rd Dec: The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday registered victory in seven of the 12 seats in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) by-polls, extending its dominance after its sweeping win in the February Assembly election. The Aam Aadmi Party finished second with three seats, while the Congress and the All India Forward Bloc secured one seat each.

Despite topping the tally, the BJP lost two wards it previously controlled—one each to the Congress and the AIFB. The party, however, won Chandni Chowk, flipping the seat from AAP. Suman Gupta clinched the ward for the BJP, which the AAP had won in the 2022 civic elections. The AAP returned the favour in Naraina, taking the ward from the BJP.

The results do not impact the BJP’s control of the civic body. The party now holds 122 of the 250 seats, while the AAP remains at 102. The Congress’ strength rises to nine.

The by-polls marked a key electoral test for Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, who comfortably steered the BJP through the contest. For the AAP, it was the first election under its new Delhi unit chief Saurabh Bhardwaj, who will claim a moral victory after the party retained all its seats.

The by-polls were held in Greater Kailash, Shalimar Bagh B, Ashok Vihar, Chandni Chowk, Chandni Mahal, Dichaon Kalan, Naraina, Sangam Vihar A, Dakshin Puri, Mundka, Vinod Nagar and Dwarka B. Eleven of these seats had fallen vacant after their councillors were elected to the Delhi Assembly.

One of the most watched contests was in Shalimar Bagh B, previously represented by the BJP’s Rekha Gupta before she won the Assembly seat and became Chief Minister. Anita Jain retained the ward for the BJP. The party also held Greater Kailash and Ashok Vihar, with Veena Asija winning the latter by a narrow margin of 405 votes.

The Congress’ lone success came in Sangam Vihar A, where Suresh Chaudhary defeated the BJP candidate by 3,628 votes. “The credit goes to the people of Sangam Vihar… Many BJP leaders came to campaign but did not ask for votes on the basis of work,” he said.

AIFB’s Mohd Imran emerged victorious in Chandni Mahal, while the AAP retained Dakshinpuri, Naraina and Mundka. Ram Swaroop Kanojia, who won from Dakshinpuri, said, “I give credit to Arvind Kejriwal, MLA Prem Chauhan, and the public. I received a lot of love and respect.”

Officials said the by-poll outcome largely preserves Delhi’s existing civic balance while signalling early trends for both the ruling BJP and the opposition AAP.