After a spectacular victory in the Delhi Assembly, BJP now sets its sights on the Municipal Corporation. The mayoral elections are slated for April. Following its assembly win, BJP seeks dominance in MCD, having secured 48 seats while AAP has 22. Here's a closer look at the MCD dynamics, exploring how BJP might secure the mayor's position without a clear majority.
The Delhi Municipal Corporation has a total of 250 councilors. Alongside them, Delhi has seven Lok Sabha, three Rajya Sabha MPs, and 14 MLAs who also participate in mayoral voting. Currently, BJP stands with 120 councilors and the Aam Aadmi Party with 122. Notably, eight BJP councilors contested the assembly elections, winning all seats, while AAP secured three victories.
Victorious BJP Councilors
The BJP councilors who triumphed in the assembly elections are: Gajendra Darral from Mundka, Rekha Gupta from Shalimar Bagh, Poonam Sharma from Wazirpur, Neelam Pehlwan from Najafgarh, Umang Bajaj from Rajendra Nagar, Chandan Choudhary from Sangam Vihar, Ravinder Singh Negi from Vinod Nagar, and Shikha Rai from Greater Kailash.
Nominated councilor Rajkumar Bhatia also won, however, nominated councilors can't vote in mayoral elections, they can only vote in zone elections. Additionally, former West Delhi BJP councilor Kamaljeet Seharawat has won a parliamentary seat. Combining AAP and nominated councilor vacancies, 12 by-elections are pending and one nomination is due by the Lieutenant Governor.
Current Councilor Standings
Presently, BJP holds 112 councilors while the Aam Aadmi Party has 119. Notably, the last mayoral elections took place in November 2024 with a brief five-month term. AAP's Mahesh Khinchi narrowly defeated BJP's Kishan Lal by just three votes.
During the mayoral election, 263 votes were cast—133 for Khinchi and 130 for Lal, with two votes voided. BJP had 113 councilors, supported by one MLA and seven MPs, totaling 121.
Potential No-Confidence Motion by Delhi BJP
AAP had 141 voters, including 125 councilors, 13 MLAs, and three Rajya Sabha MPs. Congress held eight councilors who boycotted the election. Now, BJP will have 14 MLAs and seven Lok Sabha MPs voting. Hence, BJP may not surprise if it wins the mayoral post in April. Speculations suggest BJP could introduce a no-confidence motion against the existing Delhi mayor after forming its government in the capital.
