Kejriwal’s party has most to gain, BJP most to prove

Bypolls will set the tone for next year’s civic body elections

: By-elections to 13 municipal wards on May 15 will set the tone for next year’s civic body polls, with the BJP having the most to prove and the Aam Aadmi Party the most to gain.

The announcement of by-polls on Tuesday by the Delhi State Election Commission was welcomed by the political parties, but there was also an air of uncertainty.

These polls will mark the debut of the AAP in Delhi’s municipal elections, as the party did not exist when the 2012 polls took place.

The BJP, which had won eight of the 13 wards in 2012, will have the most to lose. Four of the wards had Independent councillors and one had a Rashtriya Lok Dal councillor.

However, seven of the 13 councillors left their seats to join the AAP to contest the 2013 and 2015 Delhi Assembly elections. And four out of the seven who became AAP MLAs were from the BJP, two were Independents and one from the RLD.

Ashish Sood, a Delhi BJP general secretary and a South Delhi Municipal Corporation councillor, said the by-polls would be a “mandate on the failures of the AAP government”.

“There will be a wave of anti-incumbency for the AAP, as people have seen their performance in the State Government. We will get more than the eight wards we had before,” said Mr. Sood, adding that the party would announce its candidates this week.

The AAP, on its part, welcomed the announcement, with party spokesperson Deepak Bajpai saying they were confident of winning all 13 wards.

“We are the only party that has declared its candidates as of now. The people of Delhi have seen what the AAP government has done, whether it is the lowering of the water bills or the odd-even scheme,” said Mr. Bajpai.

He added that the BJP would face anti-incumbency, having been in power in the corporations and their predecessor, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, since 2007. Also, he said, the seven months till the full-fledged polls to the corporations would give the AAP a chance to prove itself in the municipalities.

“Our councillors will be able to show voters how a ward should be governed. They will make these 13 wards models for the whole city. Corruption has flourished under the BJP’s rule. We will work to end that in these wards,” said Mr. Bajpai.

The Congress, which is in Opposition in the three corporations, said it was ready to fight the by-polls. In fact, the Congress had moved the High Court to demand by-polls to the empty wards.

“It was our petition on which the court ordered the by-polls to be held. We welcome the announcement and are confident of our performance,” said Ajay Maken, the president of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee.

He added that the anti-incumbency towards the BJP and the AAP would work in favour of the Congress.