Campaign heats up for 12 MCD bypoll seats as parties push hard

Campaigning for the 12 vacant seats of Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) bypolls has been gaining momentum, with senior leaders from the major political parties — BJP, AAP and Congress have been holding rallies and leading door-to-door activities to ensure victory for their party candidates.

BJP candidates and leaders utilised the Sunday before the by-elections for 12 Delhi Municipal Corporation wards to generate interest among voters. Candidates from all 12 wards, along with local workers and office bearers, launched a door-to-door campaign from 7.30 am, encouraging people to vote for the BJP in next Sunday’s elections.

The highlight of today’s campaign was the seven meetings and public rallies held by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta. The Chief Minister participated in large public meetings, Panna Pramukh conferences, and ‘Chai Pe Charcha’ interactions held in Ashok Vihar (Ward 65), Dwarka-B (Ward 120), Greater Kailash (Ward 173), Vinod Nagar (Ward 198), Naraina (Ward 139), and Sangam Vihar-A (Ward 163). She urged citizens to extend strong support to the BJP candidates.

The events were also attended by MP Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, Kamaljeet Sahrawat, Bansuri Swaraj, Praveen Khandelwal, Delhi Cabinet Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa, MLAs Sandeep Sahrawat, Shikha Roy, Anil Sharma, Neeraj Basoya, Ravindra Negi, along with several dignitaries and a large number of local residents.

At the programmes held in Wazirpur, Dwarka, and Sangam Vihar, the Chief Minister underlined the crucial role of party workers and Panna Pramukhs. She said, “Each Panna Pramukh and every worker is our strength, our foundation, and the most steadfast pillar of our victory. Your energy, your trust, and your dedicated efforts will make this campaign historic.”

She urged them to ensure that the Government’s development initiatives reach every household and every family.

At 1.30 pm, the Chief Minister directly interacted with voters in Greater Kailash Ward, discussing development and maintenance, attended by RWA representatives from the ward. In the afternoon reached Sangam Vihar A Ward and addressed a public meeting on Bandh Road, urging residents to join the triple engine Government to ensure the region’s overall development. She then interacted with prominent members of society at an enlightened public convention in Sainik Vihar.

The Chief Minister addressed a public meeting on Sunday evening at F Block Road in Vinod Nagar Ward and said, “I am confident that the people of Vinod Nagar will give a befitting reply to the challenge posed by Arvind Kejriwal by giving a ticket to a former councillor involved in corruption by defeating her.”

Late in the evening, the Chief Minister, while campaigning for the by-elections in Sangam Vihar A and Narayana Wards, appealed to voters to join the Triple Engine Government in solving the area’s water problem and ensuring sanitation.

MP Manoj Tiwari addressed three large gatherings at Swarn Park in Mundka Ward, at Jai Vihar Chhath Ghat in Dhichkaun Kalan Ward, and at Jamrudpur Chaupal in Greater Kailash Ward, which were attended by a large number of people from the Purvanchal community. He said that by recently fulfilling the resolution of Chhath Puja on the banks of the Yamuna, the BJP has fulfilled an old promise to the Purvanchal community after coming to power.

Union Minister of State Harsh Malhotra addressed the Panna Pramukh conference in Dhichkaun Kalan ward in the morning. In the afternoon, he addressed a conference of beneficiaries of central Government schemes in Narayana ward along with MLA Umang Bajaj and District President Virendra Babbar. Malhotra urged party workers to fight the elections with full force and achieve a big victory in the 2022 elections, thus defusing the Aam Aadmi Party’s anti-BJP campaign.

Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva said that based on the public support received during the party’s pre-election campaign on Sunday, our internal assessment is that the BJP is winning 11 of the 12 wards, and a major reason for this is our organisational strength, which has the ability to identify its voters and get them to vote.

Delhi Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh visited the Dhichkaun ward in the morning and Mundka in the afternoon, appealing to voters to ensure the continued support of Delhi Rural voters for the BJP.

Minister Ashish Sood, addressing two street meetings in the Naraina ward, said, “As the Minister in charge of the Naraina ward, I assure you on behalf of the Delhi Government that soon, Naraina ward will also become a developed area like the rest of the Rajendra Nagar Assembly constituency.” MP Ramveer Singh Bidhuri has been campaigning vigorously in the Dakshinpuri and Sangam Vihar A wards.

Today, in addition to addressing two large public meetings with the Chief Minister, he also addressed two street meetings, stating that this time the BJP’s lotus will bloom in both wards and development will increase.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Delhi State President Saurabh Bharadwaj, campaigning in Greater Kailash 1 on Sunday for AAP candidate Reshna Gupta for the upcoming Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) by-polls, urged voters to support his party's candidate. Addressing RWA members in Greater Kailash during a campaign for the MCD by-polls, Bharadwaj said, “Leaders will try to evade clear answers unless residents demand them firmly. He said, “They will speak in circles. You will have to insist. If the hospital is being constructed, and now they have come to ask for your votes, you must ask what they plan to do about it.”

Senior Delhi Congress leaders, including Devender Yadav, campaigned in all 12 wards of the MCD on Sunday. The Congress leaders asked people to vote for an alternative to both the BJP and AAP.