Delhi mayoral polls: BJP takes control of MCD as Raja Iqbal wins race, AAP stays away
Raja Iqbal Singh, who previously served as mayor of North MCD and was the Leader of Opposition in the unified MCD, returns to helm the civic body under a strengthened BJP.
- Apr 25, 2025,
- Updated Apr 25, 2025 5:41 PM IST
Two years after it lost grip on Delhi’s civic body, the BJP stormed back to power in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on April 25. Raja Iqbal Singh was elected mayor with 133 votes, decisively defeating Congress’s Mandeep Singh, who secured just 8. One vote was invalidated.
With AAP boycotting the poll and Congress trailing far behind, BJP swept the elections and reasserted its influence over the capital’s municipal affairs.
Raja Iqbal Singh, who previously served as mayor of North MCD and was the Leader of Opposition in the unified MCD, returns to helm the civic body under a strengthened BJP.
"I thank everyone and the people of Delhi because of whom I got the opportunity to work for the public service. I will work for the development of Delhi... We will clean the streets and drains of Delhi... We will ensure that there is no waterlogging in Delhi... No development work was done in MCD for 2.5 years and in Delhi for 10 years..." Singh told ANI after winning the mayoral race.
Jai Bhagwan Yadav, the BJP councillor from Begumpur, was elected unopposed as Deputy Mayor after Congress nominee Ariba Asif Khan withdrew her candidacy. His elevation further cemented BJP’s dominant position within the MCD.
On the eve of the election, AAP councillor and former mayor Shelly Oberoi, along with Leader of the House Mukesh Goyal, held a press briefing to reaffirm their party’s decision to abstain from voting.
“The MCD election is scheduled for tomorrow, and we will completely boycott it,” Oberoi declared, slamming the BJP for converting civic governance into a sham under what she called its “triple engine power”. She emphasized that while the AAP, under Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, focused on people-centric policies, the BJP was intent solely on “seizing power”.
Currently, the MCD has 238 active seats, with 12 vacant due to recent elections to the Delhi Assembly and Lok Sabha. The BJP’s strength now stands at 117 councillors, up from 104 in 2022. AAP, meanwhile, has dropped to 113 from its previous 134. Congress holds eight seats.
The electoral college for the mayoral election comprises 238 councillors, 10 MPs (seven Lok Sabha and three Rajya Sabha), and 14 MLAs. Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta nominated 11 BJP and 3 AAP MLAs to the electoral body.
In the previous mayoral contest on November 14, 2024, AAP’s Mahesh Kumar Khinchi had edged out a win by a mere three votes. But recent defections and shifting alliances have tilted the scales, handing BJP the edge in Delhi’s civic power play.
Two years after it lost grip on Delhi’s civic body, the BJP stormed back to power in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on April 25. Raja Iqbal Singh was elected mayor with 133 votes, decisively defeating Congress’s Mandeep Singh, who secured just 8. One vote was invalidated.
With AAP boycotting the poll and Congress trailing far behind, BJP swept the elections and reasserted its influence over the capital’s municipal affairs.
Raja Iqbal Singh, who previously served as mayor of North MCD and was the Leader of Opposition in the unified MCD, returns to helm the civic body under a strengthened BJP.
"I thank everyone and the people of Delhi because of whom I got the opportunity to work for the public service. I will work for the development of Delhi... We will clean the streets and drains of Delhi... We will ensure that there is no waterlogging in Delhi... No development work was done in MCD for 2.5 years and in Delhi for 10 years..." Singh told ANI after winning the mayoral race.
Jai Bhagwan Yadav, the BJP councillor from Begumpur, was elected unopposed as Deputy Mayor after Congress nominee Ariba Asif Khan withdrew her candidacy. His elevation further cemented BJP’s dominant position within the MCD.
On the eve of the election, AAP councillor and former mayor Shelly Oberoi, along with Leader of the House Mukesh Goyal, held a press briefing to reaffirm their party’s decision to abstain from voting.
“The MCD election is scheduled for tomorrow, and we will completely boycott it,” Oberoi declared, slamming the BJP for converting civic governance into a sham under what she called its “triple engine power”. She emphasized that while the AAP, under Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, focused on people-centric policies, the BJP was intent solely on “seizing power”.
Currently, the MCD has 238 active seats, with 12 vacant due to recent elections to the Delhi Assembly and Lok Sabha. The BJP’s strength now stands at 117 councillors, up from 104 in 2022. AAP, meanwhile, has dropped to 113 from its previous 134. Congress holds eight seats.
The electoral college for the mayoral election comprises 238 councillors, 10 MPs (seven Lok Sabha and three Rajya Sabha), and 14 MLAs. Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta nominated 11 BJP and 3 AAP MLAs to the electoral body.
In the previous mayoral contest on November 14, 2024, AAP’s Mahesh Kumar Khinchi had edged out a win by a mere three votes. But recent defections and shifting alliances have tilted the scales, handing BJP the edge in Delhi’s civic power play.