New Delhi: Placed third in the final MCD bypolls tally today, BJP finished second in eight of the 13 wards it contested with two of them witnessing a close fight with AAP which garnered maximum seats in its maiden outing at the civic body elections.
AAP, riding on its promise of removing “corruption” from MCD, put up a good show, as it won five seats and picked up second spot in three wards—Wazirpur, Nawada and Munirka.
The Arvind Kejriwal-led party emerged victorious in Ballimaran, Vikas Nagar, Matiala, Nanak Pura and Tekhand. In Matiala and Nanak Pura, the vote margin between AAP and BJP were only 753 and 522 respectively.
BJP, which managed to retain Shalimar Bagh (North) and Wazirpur while also gaining Nawada seat, yielded to Congress in Qamaruddin Nagar, Khichripur and Jhilmil, and an Independent candidate in Bhati, among other losses.
It was a big setback for BJP as the party has been in power in MCD for over a decade now. It had won 7 out of the 13 seats in 2012 civic elections.
Congress, seeking to regain its lost ground in Delhi, had deployed its senior leaders for campaigning and made impressive gains, as it won four seats none of which were held by it in 2007 or 2012 municipal elections. Congress secured the second place only in Shalimar Bagh (North).
Despite the overall win, however, AAP managed only 29.93 per cent vote share (91,775 votes) while third-placed BJP won the maximum 34.11 per cent share (1,04,621 votes) and Congress got 7,6267 polls (24.87 vote share).
Independent candidates had a forgettable experience this election, as only one, Rajender Singh Tanwar could secure win from Bhati while Sunil Jindal finished second from Vikas Nagar. Four independent candidates had secured victory in the 2012 MCD polls. The results are likely to have a bearing on the MCD polls slated next year.
PTI