MCD Results: BJP Sweeps Delhi, AAP and Cong Decimated

BJP sweeps poll results with 184 of 270 wards, AAP second, and Congress third.Arvind Kejriwal concedes defeat, says his “government looks forward to working with MCDs for the betterment of Delhi.”Several members of AAP continue to allege EVM tampering.BJP’s Harsh Vardhan says victory is dedicated to the Sukma martyrs.Congress’ Delhi Chief Ajay Maken resigns after defeat.Steamrolling opposition, the BJP swept the MCD polls, trouncing the Aam Aadmi Party that rules Delhi and decimating the Congress, in an election which was billed as a referendum on the Arvind Kejriwal government.Delhi's overwhelming rejection of the AAP came barely two years into its meteoric rise in the 2015 Assembly polls, when it had clinched an unprecedented 67 of the 70 seats.On Wednesday, AAP was left with just 48 wards in its kitty out of the 272 spread across the three municipal corporations in the national capital.Delhi AAP Converner, Dilip Pandey, has resigned from his post following MCD results.A BJP candidate in a south Delhi ward trounced his AAP rival by a whopping 9,866 votes, the highest winning margin in municipal corporation elections, the results for which were declared today.The highest margin was recorded in Dwarka-B by BJP candidate Kamaljeet Sehrawat, who defeated Sushma Bansal of AAP.The lowest poll margin was in east Delhi's Bhajanpura ward, where BJP's Gurjeet Kaur defeated Congress's Rekha Rani by a mere 58 votes.Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal accepts BJP’s victory.In an apparent dig at the AAP, Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said BJP's impressive show in the MCD polls is a "lesson" for those crying foul over EVMs and asked it to respect people's mandate.Naqvi, without naming any of the opposition parties, also added that the saffron party's victory is a "clean sweep" against politics of "anarchy and arrogance".Senior Congress leader and All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary Gurudas Kamat resigns from all party posts.Congress’ incharge of Delhi affairs PC Chacko has resigned from his post, owning responsibility for the party's dismal show in the MCD polls.Maken and I in a way failed in our responsibility. The party should have the opportunity to put things in order and to improve the situation.BJP leader Ravi Kishan on Wednesday said that the party’s win was for the Sukma martyrs. When asked about the EVM-tampering allegations, he said that it was immature of AAP to keep talking about it and that’s what cost them the election.Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded his team for the hardwork they put in and made the victory possible.Anna Hazare, the activist who championed the cause of the Lokpal bill, spoke about the AAP’s election loss. He said that the party came as one which would change the system, and it gave India hope.Hazare said that Kejriwal also went back on some of the tall claims he had made before getting elected.He said he will not get a big house, car or take salary if he were elected. But now, after getting elected, he has all those things.FB Live: Yogendra Yadav & Ashutosh on AAP’s Future Post MCD ResultRead the key takeaways from the interview here.Manoj Tiwari said that Kejriwal threatened the people of Delhi with worries of diseases like dengue and chikungunya. He said that the person who should wholeheartedly focus on the development of Delhi is doing nothing for it.“We always respect the mandate given by the people. When one party won 67 of 70 seats in Delhi, even then we respected the people’s mandate. But today, that party is questioning the people’s verdict itself. Kejriwal says he will begin a movement. A movement against whom? A movement against the people themselves?”BJP dedicated its victory to the Sukma martyrs and engaged only in sombre celebrations, despite a sweeping victory.Alka Lamba, an MLA from the AAP said that she takes responsibilty for the defeat in all three wards and has offered to resign from all party posts.Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu said that the Congress is getting weaker and also appealed to the opposition to work in tandem with the BJP.Naidu called the EVM claim that Arvind Kejriwal has been blaming the election loss on, a wild one.This is a wild allegation. When they won 67 seats and we won 3, wasn’t the EVM faulty then? Just because they have lost, they are calling the machines tampered.Naidu also said that Kejriwal has blamed the media and politicians for the party’s shortcomings but he’s not ready to accept the people’s verdict. He said there are weak spots in the Congress which are now sprouting up in the AAP as well.Ajay Maken, the Delhi Congress President accepted the responsibility of the party’s loss in the MCD polls and said he will resign from his position as the party’s state chief.I accept the fault and I resign from my position of Delhi Congress President. For one year, I will not take up any post in the party and will work as a party worker. Maken said that the party has made a reasonable comeback in the polls, even though he wishes they had fared better.We have fought the election on positive issues. We are satisfied that we raised reasonable issues in the election. I was given a free hand during my two-year tenure as Delhi Congress president in organisational appointments.BJP’s National Party President Amit Shah said that the victory in Delhi has only helped the party’s “vijay ka rath” move forward.Speaking at a press conference in West Bengal, he said that the people have shown their faith in the Prime Minister and his welfare schemes for all.He also thanked everyone who voted for the party to come to power for a third time. Shah said that the people’s verdict shows that a government of excuses will not work as people want to move ahead on the path of development.Deputy Chief Minister Manisha Sisodia said that the EVMs were tampered with, which is why AAP lost. He said that if it was a small margin that AAP lost by, it would be fine but such a large win cannot be won without tampering.Former Chief Minister of Delhi, Sheila Dikshit said that the Congress did not campaign aggressively enough for the elections.The Congress did not campaign hard enough... I did not campaign for the party as I was not asked to.Dikshit alleged Delhi Congress led by Ajay Maken failed to reach out to the people, and blamed lack of involvement of the local leadership for the MCD poll debacle.The party was not able top reach out (to voters) the way we should have. Any excuse can be given when you don’t want to do anything. The decision has to be taken by the high command. The leadership needs to introspect.Shashi Tharoor Congratulates BJP, CongressSwarajya National President Yogendra Yadav congratulated BJP for their win and said that the result indicates people’s anger with Arvind Kejriwal and his governance.Bringing up the EVM issue just seems like an excuse and it isn’t the sign on a healthy or smart government... AAP must show grace in defeat. Talking about the election result as a shocking one, he said the anger with Kejriwal was greater than the anger people felt for the MCD.It is odd that the BJP has won again, given that they were the ones in the power for a decade and the MCD was one of the worst in the country. But, the anger that people felt with Arvind Kejriwal and his governance in the last two years was clearly much greater. On the issue of EVM tampering, Yadav said that while it may be feasible in principle, it’s next to impossible in practice.Also Read: FB Live: Yogendra Yadav & Ashutosh on AAP’s Future Post MCD ResultAAP leader Ashutosh alleged, after the early MCD election results that the BJP’s lead is only because of EVM’s being tampered with.Gopal Rai spoke outside the residence of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and called the early trends an “EVM wave, not a Modi Wave”.First official results show that BJP has won the Janakpuri West and Janakpuri East seats.Senior BJP leader Harsh Vardhan said that the people of Delhi want to be a part of the direction that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is leading the country to.He said that the credit for the BJP’s victory will go to everyone involved.Vardhan said that the BJP’s win is dedicated to the martyr’s of Sukma and that BJP will not be celebrating their victory, as respect for those who lost their lives.The early trends look in tune with what I saw during campaigning. People have faith in policies of the BJP and the Prime Minister’s leadership.Arvind Kejriwal must be preparing what to tell his party members after they get defeated...The EVM fiasco was expected from him, given how he has been running things in the state since coming to power.BJP leader Shazia Ilmi said that people are casting aside the identity politics and coming together to support the Prime Minister’s vision of development. She also took a dig at the AAP and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, saying they lost due to the false promises made.Arvind Kejriwal is a comedian and Comedy Night’s with Kapil has an opening also... There is hope among people as they are rejecting the negative politics and the blame game of the Delhi Chief Minister.Top Aam Aadmi Party leaders, including Gopal Rai and Manish Sisodia, have assembled at the national party convenor, Arvind Kejriwal's residence. They are brainstorming as to why the party fell short in the MCD polls by such a large margin.There’s no fanfare outside the chief minister’s residence.Arvinder Singh Lovely, who recently defected from Congress to BJP, said that it is true that the BJP was in power for 10 years in the MCD but people still have faith in the party.People have faith in our leadership... Only giving advertisements in a newspaper doesn’t help. The AAP made moholla clinics but no one visits them, enrollment in government schools has fallen and flyovers lay broken in the national capital.The party office is desolate, as the MCD election counting begins.Counting begins at 35 centres across Delhi.Manoj Tiwari, the BJP Delhi chief offered prayers on Wednesday morning before counting began. Tiwari is confident of BJP sweeping the Delhi polls, like the party has recently swept the other states.A quick Google search of dumping grounds in Delhi leads to numerous articles on one particular dumping ground – the mountain-like Ghazipur dumping yard.The Ghazipur landfill in east Delhi is the oldest functional landfill in the city that was started in 1984. Spread across 70 acres, the landfill contains over 12 million tonnes of waste.With the MCD elections done, the first task of the new body should be to check the garbage disposal system. This could in turn result in creating employment opportunities for people living near the dumping yard. Read the full story on The Quint.Kitne Crorepati aur Criminals The?Political parties may talk about clean and corruption-free politics, but all that talk is just hot air when elections are around the corner.In Delhi’s MCD Elections, of the 2,315 candidates contesting, 173 have criminal cases. Of these, 116 candidates have heinous charges like rape, abduction and attempted murder levelled against them.Congress had the most number of crorepati candidates and Independent candidate Geeta Yadav was the richest of them all. Read the full story on The Quint.From women’s safety to clean roads and hygienic public spaces, this is what Dilli ke Dhakkad voters want from the new administration that comes to power. Read the full story on The Quint.Counting of votes for the Delhi Municipal Corporation (MCD) elections will begin at 8 AM on 26 April. Votes for the elections will be counted at 35 centres across the city. Of these, 16 are in north Delhi, 13 in the south, and six in east Delhi.The counting will go on till late in the day, but initial trends are expected to come in by 11 am.Also Read: In Photos: A Day in Delhi’s Overflowing Trashlands. Care Much MCD?The civic polls held on 23 April saw a voter turnout of 53.58 percent. Polling for the MCD elections was held in 270 of the 272 wards of the three municipal corporations. The election of two wards was postponed due to the deaths of two contesting candidates.Over 90,000 security personnel belonging to Delhi Police, paramilitary forces and the Home Guards will keep watch at the counting centres.Also Read: MCD Elections: In Choking Delhi, Pollution a Non-Issue for PartiesThe BJP, on 24 April, said it was expecting a "landslide" victory in the MCD polls while the Congress adopted a cautious approach as it predicted a "close" fight with the ruling party in the three civic bodies of the national capital.The Congress had predicted winning at least 208 wards in the MCD polls during its campaigning.The AAP, which enjoyed an unprecedented mandate in 2015 Assembly elections, winning 67 out of 70 constituencies in Delhi, seemed shocked by the exit polls and claimed that the MCD poll results could be "rigged".Also Read: What Dilli Ke Dhakkad Voters Want From the New MCD Administration(At The Quint, we question everything. 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MCD Results: BJP Sweeps Delhi, AAP and Cong Decimated

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The MCD Results Post Mortem, With Professor Sanjay Kumar (CSDS)

Dilip Pandey Resigns From the Post of AAP Delhi Convenor

Highest Vote Margin 9,866, Lowest 58