Voting for the Delhi municipal elections 2022 was underway on Sunday, December 4. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) election is a three-way battle for the second time after the Aam Aadmi Party entered the fray back in 2017. The Bharatiya Janata Party has held the reins of the MCD for the last 15 years. Congress last won the MCD elections back in 2002.
This year, there are around 1.4 crore voters eligible to have their say in the MCD polls. Over 1300 candidates are contesting under party names and independently for 250 seats. The number of seats or wards in MCD were reduced to 250 from 272 after the recent unification. The counting for the MCD polls will be held on December 7.
How Delhi has voted in the past MCD elections?
The BJP dethroned the Congress in MCD back in 2007 and has been in power ever since in Delhi. In 2017, the BJP marked its all-time best performance with a two-thirds majority.
In 2002, when Congress won the last time, it dominated the polling which was held for 134 seats at the time. The Congress won 108 out of the 134 seats. The BJP was way behind with just 16 seats. There was no other party with a presence of any significance at the time.
In 2007, the BJP turned the tables on Congress winning 164 of the 272 wards. The tally of the Congress came down from 108 to just 67. Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party emerged as the third major party winning 17 seats.
In 2012, the BJP just crossed the winning margin with 138 seats. Congress attempted to bounce back but could only better its 2007 tally by 10 winning 77 seats. BSP continued to play a role with 15 seats. Independent candidates emerged as a deciding factor with 24 seats up from 15 last time.
In 2017, the BJP had its best showing with a massive win. Led by Manoj Tiwari, the BJP improved its 2012 tally by 43, winning 181 seats. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP made its debut and appeared to snatch significant number of seats from Congress, winning 49 seats. Congress saw its tally drop by 46 to just 31 seats.
Follow latest Delhi MCD polls updates here: Delhi MCD Election 2022 Live Updates: Check voter info, polling station details, latest news
(With inputs from agencies)
