The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday suggested that the mayoral election is still an open race despite the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) victory in Municipal Corporation of Delhi polls (MCD elections).
The AAP won MCD elections by securing 134 of 250 MCD wards. The BJP ranks second in the MCD elections tally with 106 wards. Though the AAP won the MCD elections as per predictions, the margin of victory is much narrower than what was predicted.
Citing the example of Chandigarh, BJP's IT department chief Amit Malviya suggested that mayoral election is still an open contest.
"Now over to electing a Mayor for Delhi. It will all depend on who can hold the numbers in a close contest, which way the nominated councillors vote etc. Chandigarh has a BJP Mayor for instance," said Malviya on Twitter.
In Chandigarh in January, despite winning just 12 of 35 wards, the BJP succeeded in gettings its mayor elected. The AAP, despite its 14 winning candidates, could not get its mayor elected.
Earlier on Wednesday, Delhi BJP Spokesperson Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga also claimed that Delhi will have a mayor from BJP.
"Delhi will again have a mayor from the Bharatiya Janata Party," said Bagga in a tweet in Hindi.
The MCD results are likely to have ramifications outside Delhi. The AAP had been looking forward to consolidating its hold on Delhi politics with MCD elections victory. With its earlier victory in Punjab, current victory in MCD, and inroads in Gujarat, AAP and its leader Arvind Kejriwal are looking forward to emerge as a direct challenger to BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2024 national elections.
(With PTI inputs)
