Pravesh Wahi, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) councillor representing Rohini East, has been elected the new mayor of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). The election took place on Wednesday, marking a significant shift in the city’s civic leadership.
Information was available with The Chenab Times that Wahi secured a commanding 156 votes. His victory was bolstered by the support of 14 councillors from the Indraprastha Vikas Party. The Congress candidate, Hazi Zaraf, garnered nine votes in the mayoral contest.
In the elections for the deputy mayor, Monika Pant, also a BJP councillor from Anand Vihar, was elected to the post, securing the same number of votes as Wahi – 156.
The standing committee also saw BJP councillors Jai Bhagwan Yadav from Begumpur and Manish Chadha from Paharganj elected. Additionally, AAP councillor Jalaj Chaudhary from Shalimar Bagh secured a position on the MCD panel.
Following his election, Mayor Pravesh Wahi expressed his gratitude, thanking Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and the BJP leadership. He stated, “We will clean Delhi in the coming months. We will work for the development of Delhi.”
The electoral college for this year’s mayoral election consisted of a total of 273 votes. This included 249 councillors, 14 MLAs nominated by the Delhi Assembly, seven Lok Sabha Members of Parliament from Delhi, and three Rajya Sabha Members of Parliament from the national capital. A candidate required a simple majority of 137 votes to be declared the winner.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) opted to abstain from participating in the mayoral polls. Earlier, Saurabh Bharadwaj, the Delhi unit president of AAP, announced the party’s decision, stating that the move would allow the BJP to assume control of the civic body. Bharadwaj added that this would enable AAP to “expose” the ruling party regarding its governance in the city.
Bharadwaj further commented, “Despite having power at all levels, the BJP has failed to bring about any change in Delhi. The BJP does not know how to perform. Only AAP knows how to work.”
Prior to this election, the mayoral post was held by AAP, with Mahesh Kumar Khinchi having won the election in November 2024 by a narrow margin of just three votes. This recent election signals a change in the political control of Delhi’s municipal administration.
The reunification of Delhi’s three municipal corporations – the East Delhi Municipal Corporation, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation, and the South Delhi Municipal Corporation – into a single entity, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, was officially completed on May 22, 2022. This consolidation aimed to streamline governance and administration within the city’s civic body.
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The Chenab Times News Desk
