Delhi: AAP's Mahesh Khichi elected mayor as party defeats BJP in MCD polls

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Leader Mahesh Kumar Khichi has been elected as the new Mayor of Delhi, as the party won the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) polls against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by three votes. 

Khichi has succeeded Shelly Oberoi, an AAP leader, who assumed the MCD office in 2023. 

Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader Atishi congratulated the newly elected mayor and attacked the BJP, saying, "The anti-Dalit BJP conspired to delay the mayoral elections. But once again Baba Saheb's constitution has won. Thanks to@AamAadmiPartyDelhi got a Dalit mayor."

दलित विरोधी भाजपा ने षड्यंत्र रचकर मेयर चुनाव में देरी करवाई। लेकिन एक बार फिर बाबा साहेब के संविधान की जीत हुई है। @AamAadmiParty की बदौलत दिल्ली को दलित मेयर मिला।

मेयर बनने पर @AAPMaheshkhichi जी को बधाई! मुझे उम्मीद है कि आपके नेतृत्व में MCD में @ArvindKejriwal जी के काम… https://t.co/rGJ08jo7vH

— Atishi (@AtishiAAP) November 14, 2024

"Congratulations to@AAPMaheshkhichiji on becoming the mayor! I hope that under your leadership the politics of@ArvindKejriwalji's work in MCD will move forward", she wrote in a post on 'X'. 

Notably, Mahesh Kumar Khichi who is the AAP councillor from Karol Bagh's Dev Nagar ward, defeated BJP's Kishan Lal of the Shakarpur ward by three votes. A total of 265 votes were polled, of which two were declared “invalid.” Of the “valid” ones, AAP's Khichi clinched 133 votes, only three more than the BJP's Lal. 

New mayor will hold the post only till April next year 

Pertinent to note that the newly elected mayor Mahesh Kumar Khichi will only hold the post till April next year. As per rules, mayoral elections are held in April every year for a five-year term comprising as many single-year tenures on a rotation basis. However, this year's polls were delayed due to a continuing standoff between the AAP and BJP. 

Accordingly, Khichi's term is set to conclude in April, next year.