The bypolls for 12 Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) wards will be held on November 30.
Announcing the schedule on Tuesday, Delhi State Election Commission said the nominations will begin on November 3. Voting will be held from 7.30 am to 5.30 pm without any break, on November 30. Counting of the votes polled will be held on December 3.
The last date of filing of nominations will be November 10 and the scrutiny of nomination papers will take place on November 12.
The last date of withdrawal of nomination will be November 15, it said. 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 municipal wards fell vacant following the election of councillors to the Delhi Assembly during the February polls.
Shalimar Bagh-B ward was represented earlier as a councillor by Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, while Dwarka-B ward was vacated by BJP councillor Kamaljeet Sehrawat after getting elected as West Delhi Lok Sabha seat.
Remaining wards were vacated after the sitting councilors from BJP and AAP on them contested Delhi Assembly polls held in February, and became MLAs.
As in previous cases, under the proviso to Section 7(E) of the Municipal Corporation Act, 1957, as amended, the State Election Commission has adopted the Assembly Electoral Rolls of the respective Assembly Constituencies corresponding to these 12 wards.
Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva has welcomed the announcement of bypolls for 12 vacant wards and said that the election results will come one-sidedly in favor of the BJP. Sachdeva said that in the past eight months, the people of Delhi have witnessed how, after the formation of the BJP’s “triple-engine” government, Delhi’s development, maintenance, and administrative systems have gained a new direction.
The Aam Aadmi Party has also stated the party is fully prepared for the upcoming by-elections in the 12 municipal seats.
“Out of these, nine seats were previously held by BJP councillors who became MLAs in the recent Assembly elections, while three were held by AAP councillors who have also been elected as MLAs. The AAP is confident that we will significantly increase its tally in these by-elections,” it said.
These rolls, as in force for the time being, will be used for the upcoming MCD bye-elections with reference to January 1, 2025, as the “qualifying date.”
All supplements prepared up to the last date for filing nominations will also form part of the electoral rolls for these bye-elections, the Commission stated.
The Commission has been holding meetings with the Returning Officers (ROs) of the 12 wards, sensitising them about the importance of finalising polling stations based on the electoral rolls received from the Election Commission of India through the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Delhi. These rolls have been shared with ROs through the Commission’s website.
The Returning Officers have been directed to complete the finalisation of polling stations for these wards by October 13, 2025. Public notices have also been issued to invite suggestions and objections from the general public.