Ending days of speculation, senior leaders of the Delhi unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday confirmed that it will contest the mayoral elections of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).
In a statement on December 21, the MCD had said that elections for the posts of Mayor, Deputy Mayor and six Standing Committee members will be held on January 6, when the MCD House will convene its first meeting and newly elected councillors will take oath.
A senior BJP leader, requesting anonymity, said, “We will contest all posts in the MCD,” adding that the names of the candidates will be declared on Tuesday, the last day to file nominations.
Another senior party functionary confirmed the development, saying the party had numbers and anything can happen in the elections.
Earlier in the day, Independent councillor from Mundka ward Gajendra Singh Daral joined the BJP. Mr. Daral, who had quit the saffron party after it denied him a ticket before the MCD polls, said, “Due to the spirit of service and work culture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ideology of the, BJP I have joined the party unconditionally.”
Delhi BJP working president Virendra Sachdeva, who welcomed Mr. Daral, said his return will strengthen the party.
As a result, among the 250 MCD councillors, the BJP now has 105, against the Aam Aadmi Party’s 134, which has eight more than the majority mark of 126. The Congress, meanwhile, has nine councillors.
Among the other two Independent councillors is Meena Devi from Isapur ward, another former BJP leader who resigned from the party after being denied a ticket.
Meanwhile, AAP candidates for the posts of Mayor and Deputy Mayor — Shelly Oberoi and Aaley Mohammad Iqbal — as well as for the Standing Committee members — Aamil Malik, Raminder Kaur, Mohini Jeenwal and Sarika Choudhary — filed their nominations on Monday.
