MCD polls: Even in defeat, BJP vote share rises by 3%

New Delhi, Dec 07: The BJP on Wednesday lost the MCD polls to the AAP in a close contest, but managed to raise its vote share by 3 per cent as compared to 2017 civic body elections in the national capital.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) won the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections held on Sunday with a comfortable majority, bagging 134 of the 250 wards.

The vote share of the ruling party in Delhi also soared from 21.09 per cent in 2017 municipal polls to 42.05 per cent, as per figures of the State Election Commission.

The BJP that had won 181 of the 272 wards in 2017 managed to win only 104 wards this time surrendering its 15-year-rule at the civic body to the Arvind Kejriwal-led party. The saffron party obtained 39.09 per cent of the total votes polled in the elections for 250 wards.

In 2017 municipal polls, the party had secured 36.08 per cent votes. An analysis of vote share of different contestants showed that the Congress which had obtained 21.09 per cent votes in 2017 could manage to get only 11.68 per cent votes this time.

Also, the vote share of Independent candidates slid to 3.46 per cent as compared to 8.8 per cent in 2017 civic body polls, suggesting that the votes of Congress and Independents shifted to the AAP and BJP. The increased vote share of the AAP shoot up its seat tally to 134 from 48 it had won in the 2017 civic body polls.

Interestingly, the vote share of BJP in the MCD polls is higher than that it had got in 2020 Delhi Assembly elections while the AAP registered a significant decline in its vote share.

The AAP had received nearly 54 per cent votes winning 62 Assembly seats in 2020 while the BJP bagged 8 seats with 38.5 per cent votes. BJP leaders claimed that the middle class voters who used to support the AAP shifted as the party was facing charges of corruption.

"The middle class voters who earlier used to vote for AAP deserted it after corruption in Kejriwal government was exposed by us and voted for the BJP in MCD polls," claimed Delhi BJP vice president Virendra Sachdeva.

Referring to BJP's sweep in wards of Patparganj and Shakur Basti Assembly segments, BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra said on Twitter, "The people of Delhi have given their verdict against the 'kattar corrupt ministers of AAP' in their respective Assembly constituencies."

The BJP swept three of the four wards in the Patparganj Assembly segment and all three in the Shakur Basti constituency held by senior AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain -- both targets of sustained attacks over corruption by the saffron party -- in the MCD elections.

The BJP in a high decibel campaigning for the MCD polls had deployed its big guns, including 17 Union ministers, chief ministers of half a dozen party-ruled states and other top functionaries mounting a relentless attack on AAP and the Kejriwal government over corruption issues.

Citing various alleged scams related to excise policy, classroom construction, labour welfare fund, among others in the Kejriwal government, the BJP campaigners had also highlighted the purported videos of jailed AAP minister Satyendar Jain having facilities like massage in his prison cell.