[1]NEW DELHI: A day after exit polls predicted gloom for the Congress in state elections, it drew some cheer by wresting seats from the BJP in Delhi’s powerful civic body MCD.
The Congress has won four of the 13 seats in the MCD or Municipal Corporation of Delhi for which by-elections were held on Sunday. An independent who won is also likely to join the party.
Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), making its civic poll debut, won five seats, which is disappointing for the party as it was hoping to replicate its assembly election success and win all 13.
The BJP, which dominates the 272-member civic body, has been left with only three of the seats that voted to fill vacancies after councilors contested and won the state election.
“MCD ruled by BJP-Cong. Outsider AAP wins max seats in by-election. Thnx Delhi for reaffirming faith. Ab MCD election mein sabhi seat jeetni hai (Need to win in MCD election too),” Mr Kejriwal tweeted.
His party, however, admitted that it was hoping for more. “We will discuss the results in detail with those who were contesting and analyse where we fell short,” said AAP leader Dilip Pandey.
The BJP held seven of these seats and the rest were with independents. BJP leader Vijay Goel was quoted as telling ANI: “I do not give much importance to these elections.”
The MCD was trifurcated in 2012 and has been ruled by the BJP for nearly a decade.The by-polls were seen as a test for all three parties ahead of the municipal polls due next year.
Exit polls on Monday after the final round of voting for state elections projected a grim outlook for the Congress. The poll of exit polls indicates that the party is set to lose Assam to the BJP and Kerala to the Left. Its only hope is in Tamil Nadu, where it has an alliance with the DMK, the party given the best chance of winning.
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