New Delhi [India], November 30 : The bypolls for 12 vacant wards in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) recorded a voter turnout of 5.40 per cent till 9:30 am on Sunday, the State Election Commission, NCT of Delhi, said.
Among the wards, Chandani Mahal recorded the highest vote percentage at 7.43 per cent.
The polling is underway in Mundka (General), Shalimar Bagh-B (Women), Ashok Vihar (Women), Chandani Chowk (General), Chandani Mahal (General), Dwarka-B (Women), Dichaon Kalan (Women), Naraina (General), Sangam Vihar-A (General), Dakshin Puri (Scheduled Caste) Greater Kailash (Women), and Vinod Nagar (General) wards.
After casting his vote, BJP MLA Ravinder Singh Negi expressed confidence in the party's victory, saying they will win all 12 seats.
He told ANI, "I have voted for the development of Vinod Nagar. I think we will win with a good margin...People are approving the development and work. We will win all 12 seats."
Bundo, a voter, highlighted cleanliness and water supply as issues for the bypolls. She said, "We have voted so that the candidate we want wins. The issues are that there is no cleanliness, no proper water supply."
Another voter, Abdul Gaffar, said, "The issues are development, employment. Water, roads, and sewerage problems are there. I voted because there should be development here. Water problems and sewerage problems should be solved."
State Election Commissioner Vijay Dev monitored polling across the 12 wards through live webcasting from the SEC headquarters, highlighting the commission's commitment to "ensuring transparency, vigilance, and smooth conduct of the MCD Bye Elections 2025," SEC Delhi wrote in a post on X.
The MCD bypolls are witnessing a triangular contest among the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress, and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). This is the first electoral test for the ruling BJP, which gained a mandate in the Assembly election, while AAP is looking to strengthen itself in the MCD after the loss in the Legislative Assembly.
Eight of the BJP's candidates are women. The BJP's Jaipal Singh Saral is contesting from Mundka, Anita Jain from Shalimar Bagh-B, Veena Asija from Ashok Vihar, Suman Kumar Gupta from Chandni Chowk, Sunil Sharma from Chandni Mahal, Manisha Rajpal Sehrawat from Dwarka-B, and Rekha Rani from Dhichaon Kalan. Other BJP candidates in the list include Chandrakanta Shivani (Naraina), Rohini Raj (Dakshinpuri), Subhrajeet Gautam (Sangam Vihar-A), Anjum Mandal (Greater Kailash) and Sarla Chaudhary (Vinod Nagar), according to a party statement.
Congress' Mukesh is contesting from Mundka, Sarita Kumari from Shalimar Bagh-B, Vishakha Rani from Ashok Vihar, Ajay Kumar Jain from Chandni Chowk, Kunwar Shehzad Ahmed from Chandni Mahal, Sumita Malik from Dwarka-B, Rashmi Sharma from Dichau Kalan, Manoj Tanwar from Naraina, Suresh Choudhary from Sangam Vihar-A, Vikram from Dakshin Puri, Shikha Kapur from Greater Kailash, and Vinay Shankar Dubey from Vinod Nagar.
The AAP's candidates include Ram Swaroop Kanojia from Dakshin Puri, Anuj Sharma from Sangam Vihar A, and Eeshna Gupta from Greater Kailash. Geeta Rawat has been named AAP candidate from Vinod Nagar, while Babita Ahlawat will contest from Shalimar Bagh-B.
The counting of votes will take place on December 3.