The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday won four out of five wards in the municipal corporation bypolls. The Congress won the Chauhan Banger ward located in north-east Delhi, which witnessed communal violence last year. The seat was earlier held by the AAP.
The BJP was a runner-up in four wards and placed third in the minority-dominated Chauhan Banger.
AAP candidates Dhirender Kumar, Vijay Kumar, Sunita Mishra and Ram Chander won the Kalyanpuri, Trilokpuri, Shalimar Bagh and Rohini C wards, respectively.
The victorious Congress candidate was Chaudhary Zubair Ahmad, his victory margin was the highest among the five wards.
The closely contested election was seen by the parties as a “semifinal” before the municipal election in 2022.
The AAP has stated that it aims to end the monopoly that the BJP has in the municipalities, where it has been in power since 2007.
The bypoll was necessitated as four of the seats fell vacant after the councillors won the Assembly elections on AAP tickets last year.
The Shalimar Bagh (North) seat fell vacant after the death of sitting BJP councillor Renu Jaju.
The bypolls saw the three parties launch strong campaigns with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal holding roadshows to set the tone for the municipal election next year. Despite a landslide victory in the 2015 Assembly election, the AAP was unable to pull off a similar performance in the 2017 municipal election and has been at loggerheads with the BJP-ruled corporations.
The State Election Commission said that the AAP polled 46.10% votes, followed by 27.29% (BJP) and 21.84% by the Congress. Around 2.42 lakh people were eligible to vote in two wards under the North Delhi Municipal Corporation, and three wards under the East Delhi Municipal Corporation. The elections saw a turnout of 50.86%.
