Delhi Municipal By-Election Results: BJP Wins 7 Seats, AAP 3, Congress 1

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi by-elections brought a clear advantage for the Bharatiya Janata Party, which secured seven out of the twelve contested seats and strengthened its presence in the capital's civic body.

The Aam Aadmi Party finished with three seats, the Congress managed to open its account with one seat, and the remaining seat went to the All India Forward Bloc. Although the BJP lost some ground, the overall power balance in the House remains firmly in its favor.

BJP Retains Control Despite Losing Two Seats

The BJP had gone into the by-elections holding nine of the contested seats but ended up losing two wards, one to the Congress and the other to the AIFB. The party reclaimed the Chandni Chowk ward, earlier held by the AAP, through Suman Gupta's victory. The AAP balanced that loss by wresting back the Naraina ward, which the BJP had won in 2022.

Despite these exchanges, the BJP continues to dominate the MCD. The party now holds 122 seats in the 250-member Corporation. The AAP holds 102 seats and the Congress has nine.

New Leaderships Tested in Both BJP and AAP

This by-election served as a significant political assessment for the leadership of both major parties. For the BJP, it was the first major electoral challenge for Chief Minister Rekha Gupta. For the AAP, it marked the debut election for Saurabh Bhardwaj after he took charge of the party's Delhi unit. Both leaders will see the outcome as a positive sign since their parties held their key positions without major setbacks.

The polling was conducted across twelve wards, including Greater Kailash, Shalimar Bagh B, Ashok Vihar, Chandni Chowk, Chandni Mahal, Dichaon Kalan, Naraina, Sangam Vihar A, Dakshin Puri, Mundka, Vinod Nagar and Dwarka B. Eleven of these wards fell vacant after their councillors were elected to the Assembly.

Important Wards and Notable Margins

One of the key contests was in Shalimar Bagh B, which was earlier represented by Rekha Gupta before her elevation to the Chief Minister's post. Anita Jain successfully defended the ward for the BJP. The party also retained the Ashok Vihar ward, where Veena Asija won by a narrow margin of 405 votes. Greater Kailash and Chandni Chowk also remained with the BJP.

The Congress marked a rare victory in Sangam Vihar A. Suresh Chaudhary secured 12,766 votes and defeated his BJP opponent by 3,628 votes. After the win, he said, "The credit goes to the people of Sangam Vihar... Many BJP leaders, including the Chief Minister, came here to campaign but did not ask for votes on the basis of work. And it did not work for them."

The AIFB celebrated its win in the Chandni Mahal ward through Mohd. Imran.

AAP Retains Three Wards

The AAP maintained its hold over Dakshinpuri, Mundka and Naraina. Ram Swaroop Kanojia, who won from Dakshinpuri, expressed gratitude to both party leaders and voters. He said, "I give credit to Arvind Kejriwal, MLA Prem Chauhan and the public. I am very happy we won. I received a lot of love and respect..."

With all results declared, the by-elections reinforce the BJP's overall dominance in the MCD, provide the AAP with steady footholds and give the Congress a morale boosting victory.