New Delhi, Apr 26: BJP is cruising towards a huge victory in Delhi municipal elections by winning or leading in 185 wards out of 270 and pushing Aam Aadmi Party to a distant second.
The counting is in progress and trends showed that BJP has won or is leading in 185 wards, AAP 47 and Congress 26. Other parties and independents won or leads in 19 seats.
According to the State Election Commission, BJP has so far won 103 seats while AAP has got 26. Congress has won eight seats so far.
AAP, which rules the state government, described its crushing defeat to "manipulation" of Electronic Voting Machines' (EVMs) while Congress' Delhi chief Ajay Maken has announced his resignation following his party's dismal show.
At one point of counting, AAP looked to fall below Congress but it managed to reverse the stand to emerge second.
BJP is upbeat as it has managed to win a third term in the civic polls, fighting against anti-incumbency. In 2007, the polls were held for undivided corporation while the 2012 polls were held after the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) was trifurcated.
Of the 272 wards in three corporations, 270 went to polls as elections to one each wards in North Delhi Muncipal Corporation (NDMC with total 104 wards ) and East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EMDC with 64 wards) were postponed due to death of candidates. South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) has 104 wards.
In SDMC, BJP has won or is ahead in 72 while AAP at second place is a distant second with 15 wards in its kitty. Congress has ten and Others in seven.
The NDMC also has similar numbers with BJP at 66. AAP has done better in NDMC winning or leading in 22 while Congress has 12 and Others three. In EDMC too, BJP is far ahead with 47 wards while AAP has an upper hand in 10 and Congress four. Others have an edge in two wards.
The victories in three corporations in the national capital would be a boost for the BJP, which continues its winning streak after the civic poll wins in Maharashtra and Odisha as well as the Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
The biggest loser will be Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP, which would have to do a lot of explanation for the loss. Its candidate was relegated to third position in the recent bypoll to Rajouri Garden Assembly seats and had to forfeit deposit. For the AAP, the polls was an opportunity to prove that the electoral victories in the Assembly elections in Delhi were not a one-off incident.
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