BJP to contest mayoral polls, announces candidates for all MCD posts

New Delhi, Dec 27: Ending days of speculation, senior leaders of the Delhi unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has decided to contest the upcoming mayoral elections of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). The election to pick the new mayor of Delhi after the high-stakes municipal polls will be held on January 6 and the last date to file nominations is today.

The saffron party has picked Rekha Gupta and Kamal Bagdi as its candidates for the posts of mayor and deputy of the MCD. It also named three candidates for the standing committee of the MCD. Gupta is a three-term councilor from Pitampura while Bagdi was elected for the first time from Ram Nagar this month.

Kamaljeet Sehrawat, former mayor of the erstwhile South Delhi Municipal Corporation, Gajendra Daral, and Pankaj Luthra have been named as BJP's candidates for the standing committee.

Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had last week announced the names of six candidates for various MCD posts, including that of mayor and deputy mayor. The party has named Shelly Oberoi, a former professor and first-time councillor from East Patel Nagar ward, as its candidate for the top post in the civic body. Aaley Mohammed Iqbal, a three-time councilor from Chandni Mahal, has been fielded as AAP's deputy mayoral candidate.

On December 7, the AAP emerged victorious in the MCD polls by bagging 134 seats in the 250-member MCD, ending the 15-year rule of the BJP in the municipal corporation. The BJP won 104 wards, while Congress could only win nine.

The mayoral elections will be held on January 6. Besides the 250 councillors, the electoral college will include seven Lok Sabha MPs, three Rajya Sabha MPs, and one-fifth of the total Delhi MLAs who are empowered to choose the Mayor, and a deputy mayor.

So, the AAP's strength may increase to 151 (subject to the Speaker's approval), including 134 council members, three Rajya Sabha MPs, and 14 MLAs.

With the addition of the seven MPs, the number of BJP votes in the mayoral race will increase to 111 (including 104 council members). The BJP still has chances to elect its mayor in the national capital, despite AAP's win as anti-defection laws are not applicable to municipal polls.

There are chances of cross voting since the anti-defection law does not apply to these polls, posing a challenge to the AAP.