New Delhi, Nov 29 (IANS) By-elections to pick new councillors in 12 wards of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) will be held on Sunday in a triangular contest seen as a virtual referendum on the performance of the BJP-led Rekha Gupta government in the Capital.

The results of the by-elections will be declared on December 3.

Earlier, the campaign for the by-elections saw both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) put their best efforts to influence voters. Chief Minister Gupta led the BJP’s charge while former CM and AAP leader Atishi led the campaign for her party.

Senior leaders from both parties fanned out across the city, making appeals as they sought to secure support in the closely watched civic contest.

As many as 53 candidates are in the fray for the 12 seats. The BJP held nine out of the 12 vacant wards where the by-election is scheduled.

The last civic elections were held on 250 seats in December 2022. After several changes in party position, the current MCD House has 115 BJP councillors.

The BJP is aiming for a 12-0 sweep in Sunday’s by-elections to reach the absolute majority mark of 125 in the 250-member civic House.

A good performance by the BJP is expected to add to the stature of Chief Minister Gupta and present a positive public report card for her e-bus, health and insurance welfare schemes and arrangements for Chhath devotees.

The contest is crucial for the AAP, too, as it has 99 councillors at present and wants to regain the ground lost in city politics after yielding power to the BJP in the Assembly elections in February this year.

The Congress is also making all-out efforts to win a few wards in the by-elections as it wants to remain relevant in city politics, currently dominated by the BJP and the AAP.

The by-elections were necessitated after councillors from these seats were elected to Parliament and the Delhi Assembly in the past 12 months.

Eleven councillors, including CM Gupta, were elected as Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs). The Dwarka-B ward has been vacant since last year after the BJP’s Kamaljeet Sehrawat was elected as a Member of Parliament from West Delhi.

The vacant wards include Mundka, Shalimar Bagh-B, Ashok Vihar, Chandni Chowk, Chandni Mahal, Dwarka B, Dichaon Kalan, Naraina, Sangam Vihar-A, Dakshin Puri (SC), Greater Kailash, and Vinod Nagar.

These wards fall under key Assembly constituencies such as Mundka, Wazirpur, Matiala, Najafgarh, Rajender Nagar, Deoli, and Patparganj.

–IANS

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