NEW DELHI: In a major setback for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) following its defeat in the recent Delhi Assembly elections, three councillors have switched allegiance to the BJP. This move strengthens the BJP’s position ahead of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) mayoral poll, scheduled for April this year.
With the defection of these three AAP councillors, the BJP now holds a majority in the MCD. Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva stated that the formation of a “triple-engine government” in Delhi is imminent. In December 2022, the AAP ended BJP’s 15-year rule over the MCD. The AAP secured 134 wards, while the BJP won 104, the Congress nine, and Independents three. The AAP has successfully elected its mayors in the 2022, 2023, and 2024 mayoral elections.
However, in the 2024 poll, AAP’s winning candidate triumphed by a narrow margin of just three votes, securing 133 votes compared to the BJP’s 130. With the defection of the three councilors and three elected as MLAs, AAP’s strength in the civic body has been reduced from 121 to 115.
The BJP’s tally also stands at 115, as it previously held 120 councillors and eight of them have now been elected as MLAs. The mayor and deputy mayor polls for the MCD also include voters from seven BJP Lok Sabha MPs, three AAP Rajya Sabha MPs, and 14 nominated MLAs (10 BJP, 4 AAP).
The three AAP councillors who joined the BJP are Anita Basoya from Andrews Ganj, Nikhil Chaprana from Hari Nagar, and Dharmveer Singh from RK Puram. Sachdeva said the councillors joined the BJP to make Delhi a clean and beautiful city.
He said, “Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, Delhi will witness rapid progress. The people of Delhi, who have given a majority mandate to the BJP, will soon see the results once the new government is in place.”
He further emphasised the need to resume stalled development projects from the past decade to achieve the BJP’s vision for a progressive Delhi.
BJP eyeing ‘triple-engine government’ in city
In the wake of its recent resounding victory in the Assembly polls, the BJP is eyeing a “triple-engine government” in Delhi by securing the post of mayor. The BJP won 48 of the 70 Assembly seats, ousting the AAP from power after a decade. The mayoral election is scheduled to be held in April. The AAP had won the last mayoral election, held in November 2024, by three votes. In the 2022 MCD polls, the AAP had won 134 wards, the BJP 104, the Congress nine and Independents three.