MCD ward polls results: BJP wins elections bagging 7 zones, AAP claims 5; South Zone, Shahdara North sees cross voting

Delhi Municipal Corporation Ward Polls: The Bharatiya Janata Party won the Delhi MCD Ward Committee elections held on Wednesday, September 4. BJP claimed victory in 7 zones, while Aam Aaadmi Party (AAP) bagged 5 zones of the total 12 ward committees. Now the BJP has 9 councillors in the standing committee and the AAP has 8.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s (MCD) ward committee elections, delayed by 19 months took place today.

The BJP won the Keshavpuram MCD Zone unopposed and all three seats in Shahdara north, Najafgarh, Shahdara South Zones, Central Zone, Narela Zone . 

AAP won two of the three zones—City SP, Karol Bagh, and West Zone—without opposition after the BJP failed to submit the necessary nominations as they did not meet the required number of elected councillors. 

AAP also triumphed in the Rohini Zone with 14 votes. Despite cross-voting, AAP won the South Zone.

The councillors are voting to elect a chairman and deputy chairman for nine of the 12 zonal-level ward committees, and one member each for the standing committee, MCD's highest decision-making body.

Elections in three zones—Karol Bagh, City SP, and Keshavpuram—were not held because neither the BJP nor AAP fielded candidates.

In Karol Bagh, AAP's Rakesh Joshi was elected unopposed as chairman of the ward committee. Jyoti Gautam and Ankush Narang secured the deputy chairman and standing committee member posts, respectively.

Similarly, in City SP Zone, AAP's Mohd Sadiq, Kiran Bala, and Punardeep Singh Sawhney were elected unopposed to the positions of chairman, deputy chairman, and standing committee member due to the absence of BJP candidates.

As of late Tuesday, there was uncertainty about whether the elections would proceed as planned, largely due to Mayor Shelly Oberoi's refusal to appoint presiding officers. Nevertheless, Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena intervened by issuing an order designating all MCD Zone Deputy Commissioners as presiding officers and instructing that the elections be held according to the scheduled timetable.

Cross Voting in Delhi MCD Polls

According to the latest reports, the Delhi South Zone, which has 16 AAP councillors and six BJP councillors, witnessed cross-voting. In the South Zone, where AAP held a 10-seat advantage over the BJP, cross-voting resulted in an 11-11 tie for the position of zonal chairman. A draw was held to resolve the deadlock, and AAP emerged victorious.

Earlier, the Indian Express reported that cross-voting took place in Shahdara North, where the BJP won. Shahdara North was the only zone where Congress filed nominations, and AAP withdrew theirs. AAP had planned to support Congress in this zone.