Candidates lists and manifestos of political parties are out as only a few days are left for high-octane battle to secure power of 250-ward Municipal Corporation of Delhi. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which finished number two in the 2017 polls, will take on the Bharatiya Janata Party which has been in power in the MCD for 15 years.
On the other hand, Congress, which was once a dominant force in Delhi politics winning three consecutive terms under Sheila Dikshit but has been on the losing side since 2013 Assembly polls, will seek to redeem its lost legacy and make the contest triangular.
The high-stakes MCD elections will be held on December 4 and votes will be counted on December 7.
In the last three MCD elections, the one fact that has remained unchanged is the BJP won all three. Despite being out of power in the capital for over two decades, the BJP managed to win the last three MCD polls. News18 explains factors behind BJP’s winning streak in MCD:
Anti-incumbency against Sheila Dikshit Govt in 2007
Sheila Dikshit was sworn as chief minister of Delhi in 1998. Five years later in 2002, Congress won a landslide victory in in 134-member Municipal Corporation of Delhi. This was the first time that Congress had a control over the local body and the Delhi Government.
However, the mandate reversed within the next five years when the BJP made a comeback. The BJP had won 144 wards in the 2007 elections to an undivided MCD.
Easy Win Against Weakening Congress in 2012
Corruption allegations shadowed Dikshit’s last term and the Congress paid the price for it. In 2011, then Congress-UPA government trifurcated the MCD into North Delhi, South Delhi and East Delhi municipal corporations. In the first municipal election after the MCD was divided, the BJP had bagged 138 of the 272 wards while decimating the Congress to 78. This election was considered as a semi-final before the Delhi Assembly election in 2013 which the Congress lost eventually.
BJP Dropped All Sitting Councillors in 2017
Facing anti-incumbency and financial mismanagement allegations in the MCD, the BJP dropped all sitting councilors in the 2017 elections. The strategy worked for the BJP which not only increased managed to retain power but also increased its strength to 181 from 138 in 2012. Even the AAP, which won a historic mandate in the 2015 Assembly elections winning 67 out of 70 seats, was not able to stop the formidable BJP but managed to claim the second spot while pushing the Congress to third.
Will BJP’s Winning Streak Continue in 2022?
BJP’s MCD candidates include over 126 women, three Muslims, seven Sikhs and nine former mayors. It was the first time that the BJP gave religious and caste breakups of its candidates for any elections.
Former mayor and Delhi BJP general secretary Harsh Malhotra said 23 Punjabis, 21 Vaishyas, 42 Brahmins, 34 Jats, 26 Purvanchalis, 22 Rajputs, 17 Gujjars, 13 Jatavs, nine Balmikis, nine Yadavs, one Sindhi and two from Uttarakhand have been given tickets. “The candidates also include seven Sikhs, three Muslims and one from the Jain community,” he said.
The list of candidates also included 41 outgoing councillors. In total, 52 former councillors from the last 10 years have been given tickets for the MCD polls, PTI reported.
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