The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections concluded at 5:30 pm on Sunday, sealing the fate of 1,349 candidates in 250 wards. The results will be declared on December 7.

Image

AMN / WEB DESK / NEW DELHI

With the end of MCD elections in national capital Delhi, the fate of 1,349 candidates was sealed today. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) seeking to oust the BJP, while the saffron party seeks a fourth consecutive term at the civic body.

Approximately 50% of the voters of all 250 wards in Delhi turned out to vote.

The Congress, which has been thrashed in back-to-back parliamentary, assembly, and municipal corporation polls in the national capital since 2015, will strive to redeem itself with a strong showing this time.

The BJP leaders declared victory in the election for 250 MCD wards on December 4 after a high-decibel 13-day campaign and launched an all-out attack on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and its convener Arvind Kejriwal over corruption.

Image

Leaders of the AAP, led by Kejriwal, attacked the BJP with equal zeal, citing issues such as landfills in the city and “corruption” during the saffron party’s 15-year control at municipal corporations.

Earlier this year, the BJP-led Centre merged the national capital’s three corporations into the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), lowering the number of wards from 272 to 250.

The three major parties have fielded candidates in all 250 wards, for a total of 1,349 candidates. A total of 1.45 crore people were eligible to vote.

The BJP easily defeated the AAP and the Congress in the 2017 municipal corporation elections, winning 181 of the 270 wards that were contested. The AAP won 48 wards in its first civic body elections, while the Congress won 30.

The Bahujan Samaj Party has 132 candidates, while the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, led by Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, is contesting in 15 wards.

The Nationalist Congress Party has candidates in 26 wards, while the Janata Dal (United) has 22 candidates.