BJP leader Raja Iqbal Singh was elected the new mayor of Delhi on Friday, defeating Congress candidate Mandeep Singh in a contest largely dominated by the BJP after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) decided to boycott the election.
With AAP opting out and Congress holding a marginal eight seats, the BJP secured a comfortable win, reinforcing its influence over Delhi’s civic administration. The BJP now controls 117 out of 238 seats in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), up from 104 in 2022. AAP’s tally has fallen to 113 from 134.
Newly elected Mayor, Raja Iqbal Singh stated, “The mismanagement in the corporation over the last two and a half years due to the Aam Aadmi Party’s rule will be addressed. We will aim to clean Delhi in three minutes and make it clean for the public… We will work in collaboration with the Delhi government to ensure that the public faces no difficulties.”
Raja Iqbal Singh, who previously served as the mayor of North MCD and was Leader of the Opposition in the unified MCD, said his focus would be on improving Delhi’s sanitation, tackling waterlogging, and removing garbage mounds. “We will eliminate corruption and complete all pending work stalled over the past two years,” he said.
The mayoral election’s electoral college included 238 councillors, 10 MPs, and 14 MLAs. Delhi Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta nominated 11 BJP and three AAP MLAs to participate in the vote.
