Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta has appointed 14 MLAs to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), strengthening the BJP’s bid for a “triple-engine government” by securing the mayoral elections next month.
Among the 14 nominated MLAs, 11 belong to the BJP, while three are from AAP. These members hold voting rights in the elections for Mayor and Deputy Mayor, scheduled for April.
Gupta, in a statement, emphasized that the nominated MLAs would contribute to budget formulation, civic administration, and urban governance within the MCD.
As per an official notification, the BJP MLAs nominated to the MCD include Anil Sharma, Chandan Choudhary, Jitender Mahajan, Karnail Singh, Manoj Kumar Shokeen, Neelam Pahalwan, Parduymn Singh Rajput, Raj Kumar Bhatia, Ravi Kant, Sanjay Goyal, and Tarvinder Marwah.
The AAP MLAs nominated are Pravesh Ratn, Surendra Kumar, and Ram Singh Netaji.
In the last mayoral election held in November 2024, AAP emerged victorious by a margin of three votes.
Following its decisive victory in the assembly elections last month, the BJP is now focusing on securing the Mayor’s position to establish complete control over governance in Delhi.
A senior BJP leader in Delhi stated, “With 11 BJP MLAs nominated to the MCD, our chances of winning the Mayor’s post have increased significantly. Additionally, several AAP councillors have expressed interest in joining the BJP.”
The leader further claimed that a “triple-engine government”—with BJP in power at the Centre, Delhi, and MCD—would lead to more efficient governance and expedited public service initiatives.
The BJP secured 48 out of 70 seats in the assembly elections held in February, displacing the AAP government, which won only 22 seats.
Officials noted that three of AAP’s 121 councillors in the MCD were elected as MLAs, whereas eight of BJP’s 120 councillors entered the House. In the 2022 MCD elections, AAP had won 134 wards, BJP 104, Congress nine, and Independents three.
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BJP leaders argued that the party’s strengthened vote bank—comprising its MLAs, Delhi’s seven Lok Sabha MPs, and the possibility of AAP councillors defecting—practically guarantees its victory in the mayoral elections.
The BJP officially became the single largest party in the MCD on February 15 after three AAP councillors switched allegiance. The anti-defection law does not apply to municipal councillors, allowing such shifts in party loyalty.
(With inputs from PTI)
