Delhi mayor elections: BJP regains control of MCD after two years, elects Raja Iqbal Singh as Delhi Mayor

The BJP reclaimed power in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) after a gap of two years and appointed Raja Iqbal Singh as Delhi Mayor after getting 133 votes against his Congress opponent’s eight. The Aam Aadmi Party had decided to boycott the elections.

The Congress nominee was Mandeep Singh.

Jai Bhagwan Yadav of the BJP is also the new deputy mayor after the Congress’ Ariba Khan withdrew her name.

The current strength of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi is 238 and 12 seats are vacant because some councillors got elected as MLAs and another as an MP. The BJP has 117 councillors – up from 104 in 2022 – while the AAP has 113, down from 134. The Congress has just eight.

With the AAP boycotting the election and the Congress reduced to a marginal presence, the BJP is expected to comfortably sweep the civic posts, solidifying its control over Delhi through the Centre, the nominated MLAs in the Assembly and now the MCD.

“AAP has already accepted its defeat. We will eliminate corruption and complete all the pending work that was stalled over the past two years,” he said.

He further stated that once the mayor is elected, elections for the standing committees will be held promptly.

Meanwhile, AAP councillor and former Mayor Shelly Oberoi and Leader of the House Mukesh Goyal held a press conference on Thursday where they reiterated their party’s decision to boycott the election.

“The MCD election is scheduled for tomorrow, and we will completely boycott it,” Oberoi said, accusing the BJP of turning the civic polls into a farce with its so-called “triple engine power.”

They added that under Arvind Kejriwal’s leadership, several people-centric decisions were taken, but the BJP’s only objective has been to “seize power.”

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