New Delhi: As the counting of votes progresses in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi polls, both Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) are claiming to win the polls but the latest trends suggest AAP securing 107 seats so far and leading in 25; while the BJP is leading on 20 wards (winning 85) so far.
Speaking to ANI, BJP leader Parvesh Verma said that the people of Delhi have seen the “lies” of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and have voted for the BJP. “The people of Delhi know about Kejriwal’s lies and are happy with the work by the MCD. There could be some anti-incumbency because of the 15-year-long rule. The people have seen the work that we have done during COVID and for the parks and hospitals. I am sure that we will win the elections,” he said. AAP MP Raghav Chadha said that BJP covered the city in the garbage and the AAP will clean the city once it wins the polls.
“Mayor will be from AAP. BJP had covered Delhi in the garbage, it’ll be cleaned and Arvind Kejriwal’s govt will be formed in MCD. People of Delhi had decided to bring AAP in MCD so that Delhi become clean and beautiful,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) crossed the halfway mark in the counting of votes in 250 wards of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections, as per the latest trends on Wednesday, hinting that the exit polls which predicted the party’s edge were right.
The high-decibel battle which was fought in the election campaign ahead of the polling on December 4, witnessed the claims and counter-claims by both parties (BJP, AAP) of winning the elections, however, it all boils down to December 7 when the outcome of the election would be revealed.
The polls for 250 wards in the national capital were held on December 4 with about 50 per cent voter turnout and a total of 1,349 candidates were in the fray. However, the low voter turnout may not be an indicator of pro-incumbency with the exit polls predicting the AAP win in the MCD polls.
Congress, which is mostly focussing on the success of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, was not predicted (in the exit polls) to be a prominent challenger in the recently conducted polling. The party is predicted to get only a handful of seats. However, the high-stakes civic polls are largely seen as a three-way contest between the BJP, the AAP and the Congress.
For the counting, the Commission has set up 42 counting centres across the city. 68 Election Observers have already been deployed by the Commission under whose supervision the counting of votes shall be carried out by the Returning Officers in the presence of candidates or their representatives.
Further, the Commission has also deployed 136 engineers from Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) at these counting centres to attend to any technical issues regarding the EVMs which may arise during the counting of votes. Special Media Rooms to facilitate viewing of live results on the Commission’s web portal on the LED screens at these 42 counting centres.
These centres are under multi-layered security and entry of persons authorized by the Commission shall only be allowed by the security personnel deployed at these centres. Delhi had witnessed highly charged campaigning by AAP and BJP which made top leaders, including Union ministers, chief ministers of BJP-ruled states and MPs hit the streets for door-to-door campaigning and meetings to garner public support.
The BJP, which has governed the civic body in Delhi since 2007, is looking to maintain its winning streak. This was the first civic election after the fresh delimitation exercise. There were 272 wards in Delhi and three corporations – NDMC, SDMC, and EDMC in Delhi from 2012-2022 that later reunified into an MCD that had formally come into existence on May 22. (ANI)
