Security personnel keeping vigil outside the strong room at Gole Market in Delhi on Monday. , Photo Credit: Sushil Kumar Verma
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A day after votes were cast for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections, both the AAP and the BJP claimed that they would cross the majority mark. The Congress said the number of results to be declared on December 7 would surprise many.
AAP’s MCD in-charge Durgesh Pathak stood by his party’s pre-poll assessment of winning 230 wards out of 250. “We have done well in all areas and have even made inroads in some BJP strongholds,” said Mr. Pathak.
BJP’s MCD election committee convenor Ashish Sood said the party is confident of a “resounding victory”.
“We have got full support of the people. There was no anti-incumbency. We are winning the election with a good margin,” Mr Sood said, adding that Delhi will get a BJP mayor.
Former Delhi Mayor and senior Congress leader Farhad Suri said the party got votes from all sections of the society. “Many people in the media had written to us. But we are going to give them a surprise. Our traditional voters, including the poor and the middle class, are back with us in good numbers. The BJP, which has been at the helm of the city’s municipal corporations (now unified) for the last 15 years, has flown in a galaxy of Union ministers, chief ministers and senior party leaders in its campaign to secure a fourth consecutive term. However, the party faced a tough challenge from the AAP which, after winning two consecutive assembly elections, launched an aggressive campaign against landfills and alleged corruption in the MCD.
‘Banking on Congress’
A Delhi BJP source said the party is banking on the revival of the Congress in Muslim-dominated wards to gain an edge over the AAP. A senior party leader, the source said the party has got information that the Congress is getting almost half the minority votes. “We believe that they [Congress] Has also performed well in the slum areas of the city.
Another BJP leader said the city unit of the party was divided over the assessment of the party’s performance. “Some believe the party will cross the halfway mark, while others feel we will not get more than 100 seats,” the leader said. “A few months back, people had given us only 25-30 seats. Even if we get only 100 seats, it will be a respectable victory.”