NEW DELHI: The BJP secured a decisive victory over the AAP in the MCD zonal ward elections on Wednesday, gaining control over the civic agency’s most influential body, the Standing Committee.
The BJP claimed the positions of chairman and deputy chairman in seven of the 12 zonal ward committees, and one member each on the Standing Committee, leaving AAP with victories in only five zones.
Held under tight security, the elections saw the BJP triumph in the Narela, Civil Lines, Keshav Puram, Shahdara North, Najafgarh, Shahdara South, and Central Zones. Meanwhile, AAP managed to win in the Karol Bagh, West, South, City SP, and Rohini zones.
Notably, voting was not conducted in three zones—Karol Bagh, City SP, and Keshav Puram—because either the BJP or the AAP fielded candidates unopposed.
Among the notable winners were Pawan Sehrawat and Sugandha, two councillors who recently defected from AAP to BJP. They secured the chairman positions in the Narela and Central Zones, respectively.
The election marked the first since the unification of the previously trifurcated MCD in 2022. The vote was delayed due to a political deadlock between the ruling AAP and the opposition BJP, eventually becoming a matter of legal contention.