The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured a major victory in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) by winning the final vacant seat on the powerful Standing Committee. BJP’s Sundar Singh Tanwar received all 115 votes, cementing his party’s control over the 18-member committee. This win grants the BJP a decisive advantage, as the Standing Committee holds significant sway over the MCD’s financial and administrative decisions, including budget approvals.
However, the victory came under contentious circumstances, as both the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress boycotted the election. With AAP’s 125 councillors and Congress’s 9 absent from the vote, the BJP faced no opposition, and Tanwar was elected unchallenged. Had AAP participated, the dynamics might have been different, as the party holds more councillors than the BJP. AAP’s decision to abstain stemmed from objections over how the election was convened. The party argued that the election, called by Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena, bypassed proper procedures.
Former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia also criticized the process, calling it “illegal” and asserting that only the Mayor has the legal authority to summon the House. He and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal expressed concerns over what they perceived as a “conspiracy” to undermine democratic norms in the city’s governance. This conflict is part of a broader, ongoing battle between AAP and the central government, particularly around the role of the Lieutenant Governor, who represents the central government in Delhi.
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The seat in question became vacant when BJP’s Kamaljeet Sehrawat was elected to the Lok Sabha, necessitating this by-election. AAP and Congress’s decision to abstain allowed the BJP to secure a majority in the Standing Committee with 10 out of 18 members, giving it significant control over municipal matters for the foreseeable future.
This victory for the BJP adds to the tension between AAP and the BJP-led central government, as the two parties continue to clash over Delhi’s governance.