New Delhi: Bypolls to 12 wards of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi will be held on November 30 and the counting of votes on December 3, the Delhi State Election Commission said on Tuesday.
Nomination filing will begin on November 3. The last date of filing of nominations will be November 10, and the scrutiny of papers will take place on November 12. The last date of withdrawal of nomination will be November 15, it said.
On November 30, voting will be held from 7.30 am to 5.30 pm.
The BJP, which is currently in power in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), asserted it will sweep the bypolls. On the other hand, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said in a statement that it was prepared for the bypolls.
The bypolls will be held at Mundka, Shalimar Bagh-B, Ashok Vihar, Chandni Chowk, Chandni Mahal, Dwarka-B, Dichaon Kalan, Naraina, Sangam Vihar-A, Dakshin Puri, Greater Kailash and Vinod Nagar. The BJP held nine of the 12 wards earlier, and the remaining three were represented by AAP councillors.
Rekha Gupta represented the Shalimar Bagh-B ward, and she relinquished it after winning the Assembly polls earlier this year and became Delhi’s chief minister. Dwarka-B ward was acated by the BJP’s Kamaljeet Sehrawat after getting elected as MP from the West Delhi Lok Sabha seat. The remaining wards were vacated after the sitting councillors from the BJP and AAP became MLAs
following the assembly polls in February this year. Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva asserted that the bypoll
results will be one-sided, in favour of his party.
“In the past eight months, the people of Delhi have witnessed how, after the formation of the BJP’s “triple-engine” government, development and governance gained a new direction, he said. The BJP won the Assembly elections held in February, forming a government in Delhi after 27 years.
On the other hand, the AAP said that it is confident of increasing its tally in the MCD following the bypolls.
The model code of conduct came into effect in the 12 wards immediately after the bypoll date was announced. It will remain in force till completion of the elections by December 10, said the commission. It has appointed district election officers and returning officers for the bypolls. Election observers and expenditure observers have also been appointed to ensure adherence to the poll code.
Meanwhile, DPCC president Devender Yadav claimed that the Delhi Congress is ready to contest and win the forthcoming Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) byelections.
Yadav informed that the party has been continually engaged in strengthening its organisation at the booth level for the last few months and putting in place a strong grassroots presence and coordination.
He mentioned that the pace of the Congress campaign picked up further momentum after the formation of Mandalams and Sectors in each Block, along with the appointment of new Block and District Congress Committee presidents, office-bearers, and observers. These organisational activities, he added, have rejuvenated party workers and consolidated Congress’s base throughout Delhi.