New Delhi, 28 April (H.S.): Ahead of the high‑stakes Delhi Municipal Corporation mayor election scheduled for Wednesday, the BJP held a key strategy meeting at its Delhi headquarters on Tuesday evening. The session, chaired by state president Virendra Sachdeva, brought together all Delhi city MPs, including newly inducted Rajya Sabha member Swati Maliwal, as well as councillors and senior leaders, to finalise voting tactics and coordination for the mayoral, deputy mayoral and Standing Committee polls.
The municipal mayoral vote will be decided by an electoral college of 273 votes, comprising 249 councillors, 14 MLAs nominated by the Delhi Assembly, seven Lok Sabha MPs from Delhi and three Rajya Sabha members representing the capital—votes that collectively determine the next mayor. To win, a candidate needs 137 votes.
With AAP boycotting the mayoral election, the BJP has named Pravesh Wahi for mayor and Monica Pant for deputy mayor, while Jay Bhagwan Yadav is in the running for Leader of the House and Manish Chadha for a vacated seat in the Standing Committee. The Congress, entering the fray after AAP’s withdrawal, has fielded Haji Zareef for mayor.
Poll‑share arithmetic currently favours the BJP, which commands 143 of the 273 votes: 123 councillors, seven Lok Sabha MPs, two Rajya Sabha members, and 11 nominated MLAs. AAP’s bloc, accounting for 105 votes, consists of 100 councillors, three MLAs and two Rajya Sabha members. The breakaway Indraprastha Vikas Party holds 15 councillors, while the Congress stands at nine councillors.
During the meeting, party functionaries walked MPs and councillors through the procedure and security‑protocol for the voting process, emphasising discipline and strict adherence to the party whip. Present at the session were Union Minister of State Harsh Malhotra, MPs Manoj Tiwari, Yogendra Chandolia, Kamaljit Sehrawat and Delhi BJP general secretary Vishnu Mittal, alongside Swati Maliwal, who was personally welcomed at the party office as part of the leadership‑consolidation drive.
By bringing all voting‑eligible MPs and key councillors under one roof, the BJP aims to project a unified front and prevent any last‑hour defections or voting glitches in the tightly contested MCD mayoral election. Officials say the strategy‑session is designed not only to secure the mayoral post but also to consolidate BJP control over the Standing Committee, which wields crucial financial and administrative authority within the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.
---------------
Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
