The bypoll results of the 13 wards announced on Tuesday made it clear that the municipal elections scheduled to be held in April 2017 in the national Capital is all set to become a triangular contest between the AAP, the Congress and the BJP.
The splendid show put up by the Congress clearly indicates that the battered and shattered party had been able to regain its vote share it had lost in the last Assembly elections to the AAP in unauthorised colonies, jhuggi clusters, villages, among Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe community and a section of the Government employees.
But results showed that the Congress had failed to retain its vote share among Muslims which it had lost to the AAP in the last Assembly poll.
The Congress was ecstatic with its win in four wards —Qamaruddin Nagar, Munirka, Khichripur and Jhilmil wards. Interestingly, Delhi Congress had never won MCD elections from these wards since 2007.
“It’s a very big victory for us,” said Delhi Congress president Ajay Maken pointing out that all the four wards won by the party were not won by it even in 2007 and 2012 MCD elections. After winning four seats, Maken said, “These are the seats where the Congress has been traditionally weak… if we have been able to win them it is a big achievement as the party has started from zero”.
“I want to thank Rahul Gandhiji for taking initiative to address the problems of people in the slum, sanitation and other downtrodden people in the national Capital,” Ajay Maken added.
The Congress leader said the party would now pressurise the AAP Government to demand resignation of 21 parliamentary secretaries immediately and face elections.
The Independent candidate Rajinder Tanwar from Bhati ward also joined Congress on Tuesday that brought the party’s tally on par with the AAP. Congress candidate Yogita Rathi won from the all-women candidate ward Munirka while party candidates Anand Kumar and Pankaj luthra defeated ex MlAs fielded by BJP from Khichripur and Jhilmil wards in East Delhi Municipal Corporation.
Congress candidate Ashok Bhardwaj won from Qamruddin Nagar ward by defeating BJP and AAP candidates. The results do not augur well for the AAP as its vote share percentage declined from 55 per cent in 2015 to 30 per cent in these municipal bypolls, said sources, adding similarly, the vote share of Congress has increased from seven per cent to 25 per cent.
The results in four wards where Congress won reflected shifting of core voters in the party who have been voted to AAP in 2015 assembly polls.
It is also a matter of concern for Congress leadership as minority votes are still with AAP despite campaign by senior leaders like Digvijay Singh, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Harun Yusuf in Muslim pockets.
On the other hand, the BJP has failed to protect its traditional stronghold wards such as Jhilmil, Khichripur, Nanakpura and Matiala. The party has obtained 34 per cent vote share, a decline of two per cent.
The victory of the Congress in Quamuruddin Nagar, Munirka, Khichripur and Jhilmil and its rebel candidate Rajender Singh Tanwar who swept Bhati ward has surprised one and all as this is the first occasion when the party has registered its victory in these wards since 2007 municipal polls.
Despite its increase in vote share from 32.08 per cent in the Assembly poll to 34.11 per cent in the municipal by-elections, the BJP could wrest its control in only three wards - Shalimar Bagh (North), Wazirpur and Nawada. While the saffron party had fielded three former legislators in bypolls, only Dr Mahender Nagpal was able to register his victory in Wazirpur. Former MlA Vinod Kumar Binny lost to the Congress from Khichripur by a margin of about 1,000 votes and ex-MlA Jitender Singh Shunty was defeated by the Congress candidate in Jhilmil by a margin of over 2,000 votes.
If the victory margins of the Congress and AAP winners are any indication, the candidates of the former party had done far better than the latter. For instance, the Congress won Quamuruddin Nagar by logging 15,892 votes against BJP which got 8,458 votes and AAP which ended up at third slot by securing 7,922 votes. In Jhilmil, the Congress got 10,318 votes, BJP 7,899 votes and the AAP ended up at third slot by getting just 2,419 votes.