BJP calls meeting with winning councillors of MCD elections

NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday called a meeting of its key office bearers at the BJP headquarters at 5:30 pm today, informed the BJP sources. Another meeting of party's winning councillors of the MCD elections has been called.

This development comes after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) won 134 of the total 250 wards in the national capital's civic body polls, uprooting 15-year rule by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). BJP won 104 wards. and Congress was reduced to nine, which means its base in Delhi continues to erode.

The high-decibel battle of MCD witnessed the claims and counter-claims by both parties (BJP, AAP) of winning the elections, however, it all boiled down to December 7 when the outcome of the election was revealed.

The polls for 250 wards in the national capital were held on December 4 with about 50 per cent voter turnout and a total of 1,349 candidates in the fray. However, the low voter turnout did not prove to be an indicator of pro-incumbency.

This was the first civic election after the fresh delimitation exercise. There were 272 wards in Delhi and three corporations - NDMC, SDMC, and EDMC in Delhi from 2012-2022 that later reunified into an MCD that had formally come into existence on May 22.

Congress, which is mostly focussing on the success of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, was not predicted (in the exit polls) to be a prominent challenger in the recently conducted polling.

However, the high-stakes civic polls are largely seen as a three-way contest between the BJP, the AAP and the Congress. Special Media Rooms to facilitate viewing of live results on the Commission's web portal on the LED screens at these 42 counting centres.

Delhi had witnessed highly charged campaigning by AAP and BJP which made top leaders, including Union ministers, chief ministers of BJP-ruled states and MPs hit the streets for door-to-door campaigning and meetings to garner public support.