Delhi: MCD polls underway despite opposition from mayor, AAP wins Karol Bagh, Rohini zones

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi zonal ward committee polls commenced at the agency headquarters here on Wednesday amid heavy security deployment. The councillors will vote to elect a chairman and deputy chairman for nine of the 12 zonal-level ward committees, and one member each for the standing committee, MCD's highest decision-making body.

Elections in three zones -- Karol Bagh, City SP, and Keshav Puram -- were not held as either the BJP or the AAP did not field their candidates. Results of two of the three zones were declared.

From the Karol Bagh zone, AAP councillor Rakesh Joshi was elected unopposed as chairman of the ward committee while Jyoti Gautam and Ankush Narang bagged the posts of deputy chairman and
member of the standing committee since the BJP did not field any candidate.

Similarly, AAP candidates Mohd Sadiq, Kiran Bala and Punardeep Singh Sawhney were elected unopposed as chairman, deputy chairman of the ward committee, and member of the standing committee from City SP Zone in the absence of any candidates from the BJP.

The voting will be done in two clusters of all the MCD zones held simultaneously with councillors of five zones casting their votes together while the remaining zones will go to polls separately.

MCD zones Rohini, Najafgarh, West, South, and Central will vote between 10 am and 4 pm on the first floor of the agency headquarters in Hansraj Gupta Auditorium.

The remaining zones -- Shahdara South, Shahdara North, Civil Lines, and Narela -- will vote in Satya Narayan Bansal Auditorium on the second floor.

The long pending elections are being held for the first time after the unification of the MCD in 2022. Due to the political deadlock between the ruling AAP and the opposition BJP, the polls could not take place and the matter became subjudice.

The election will be held through secret ballot in accordance with the Delhi Municipal Corporation Regulations, 1958.

Anticipating a face-off between the two parties, the police have beefed up security arrangements in and around the Civic Centre located in central Delhi.

A company of paramilitary personnel along with local police has been deployed at the spot.

Meanwhile, the councillors of both parties hoped for a smooth election.

"We have full faith that the election will be conducted peacefully and the ward committee will be formed," said BJP Councillor Yogesh Verma.
Some also expressed apprehensions about the poll results.

"I don't know what's going to happen. These BJP people can do anything. The LG is constantly troubling us but what can we do? We are helpless. They have put the chief minister in jail," Amrit Jain, AAP Councillor from Budh Vihar said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DNA staff and is published from PTI)