The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has taken the lead in 103 wards, while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is close behind, leading in 90 wards. The Congress, meanwhile, is leading in 10 wards, early trends from the State Election Commission (SEC) show. Counting of votes for the elections to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi is underway. The MCD has 250 wards, and a party needs 126 to win.
This was the first election after the MCD was reunified earlier this year. According to exit polls, the AAP is set to wrest the MCD from the BJP in a clean sweep. The BJP, which has won the municipal polls in the city for three consecutive terms since 2007, is predicted to come in a distant second. The Congress, meanwhile, is expected to get only a handful of seats.
The polls, which took place on December 4, saw a voter turnout of only 50.48% — just over 73 lakh people from the total of 1.45 crore eligible voters. Data shared by the Delhi State Election Commission shows that upscale neighbourhoods of South Delhi saw the lowest voter turnout in the municipal polls. Rural pockets and parts of Northeast Delhi, where riots took place in 2020, saw the highest polling percentages.