MCD polls: AAP victory overshadowed by losing key ground to BJP, lower vote share

By: SHEKHAR SINGH AND AVINASH PRABHAKAR

Delhi's ruling Aam Aadmi Party on Wednesday managed to wrest control of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, ending the BJP's 15-year-long reign but did not perform too well inwards comprising senior leaders' constituencies.

Another major concern for the party is that even though its vote share, at 42.05 percent, was double 2017's 21.09 percent, it has lost around 12 percent of its vote share since the last Assembly polls.

In the 2020 Assembly elections, the AAP secured 53.75 percent vote share to win 62 out of the total 70 seats, while the BJP's vote share increased by about 3 percent from the polls when it bagged 8 seats with 38.5 percent votes.

The BJP also made its presence felt in constituencies held by senior AAP leaders including Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, jailed minister Satyendar Jain, Environment Minister and Delhi state convenor Gopal Rai, Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Imran Hussain, as well as senior leaders Amanullah Khan, Saurabh Bhardwaj, and Atishi.

Sisodia's Patparganj constituency has four wards. However, the party has won one ward only and the BJP the other three - the same as in 2017.

Jain, who has been in jail for over six months now on allegations of money laundering, is the MLA from Shakur Basti, which has three wards - all three were won by the BJP, just like in 2017.

Gahlot is the MLA from Najafgarh constituency whose all three wards have been clinched by the BJP. Rai's Babarpur also has four wards - but the AAP has secured only one, while two went to the BJP and one to the Congress.

Similarly in Amanullah Khan's Okhla constituency, the BJP has won two wards, the Congress two, and the AAP only one.

Of AAP spokesperson Bhardwaj's Greater Kailash constituency, the party has won two of the three wards and the BJP has won one.

In Ballimaraan constituency of Hussain, the AAP succeeded in securing two wards and BJP one.

In Atishi's seat Kalkaji, all three MCD wards went into the BJP's basket. In the Model Town seat held by Akhilesh Pati Tripathi, all three wards were also won by the saffron party.

However, the AAP has achieved a comfortable majority by securing 134 seats, an increase of 86 seats from last time when it got only 48 seats. In 2017, the BJP had won 181 seats of the then total 270 seats coming under Delhi's three civic bodies. This time the party has won 104 seats. (KB/IANS)