BJP’s Pravesh Wahi wins Delhi mayoral polls, AAP abstains to 'expose' failed governance

Delhi on Wednesday got a new mayor as BJP's Pravesh Wahi was elected with a sweeping majority, even as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) abstained from the mayoral polls in a move it said would ''expose'' the saffron party's governance. The BJP councillor from Rohini East, after taking charge, said his immediate priority would be visible ground-level improvements ahead of the monsoon, including desilting of drains, road repairs and sanitation measures across the city. Wahi's victory came after the AAP chose to stay away from the mayoral election, arguing that the move would allow the BJP to assume full responsibility for running the civic body and be held accountable for governance in the capital. ''With a population of nearly 2.5 to 3 crore people in the capital, challenges are naturally large, but work is visible on the ground. Whether it is cleaning drains, repairing roads or improving sanitation, the MCD is working with greater seriousness than before,'' Wahi said. ''A major change is that our sanitation workers are receiving salaries on time, and the previous backlog has also been reduced considerably,'' he added. Earlier, Delhi AAP president Saurabh Bharadwaj said the party would sit in the opposition and expose what he termed the BJP's failed ''four-engine'' governance model. He alleged that despite the BJP controlling multiple arms of governance --including the Centre, the Lt Governor's office and the MCD -- civic problems in the city continued to persist. ''With all four engines, it is clear that the BJP does not know how to run the city. Only Arvind Kejriwal can run Delhi,'' the senior AAP leader said. A total of 165 votes were cast in the election, of which Wahi secured 156 votes -- 142 from BJP councillors and the support of 14 councillors from the Indraprastha Vikas Party. Congress candidate Haji Zarif received nine votes. BJP councillor from Anand Vihar, Monika Pant, was elected deputy mayor with 156 votes. Jai Bhagwan Yadav from Begumpur and Manish Chadha from Paharganj were elected to the standing committee from the BJP, while AAP councillor Jalaj Chaudhary from Shalimar Bagh was also elected to the MCD panel. Referring to the civic budget and waste management, Wahi said the MCD was working towards clearing Delhi's landfill sites in a phased manner. ''The Rs 11,086-crore budget is a mega budget announced for development works. By December 2026 and further by 2027, we are moving in the direction of eliminating the garbage mountains of Bhalswa and Ghazipur,'' he said. He added that the opposition should play a constructive role so that public issues could be discussed and solutions found in the House. The new mayor also said the BJP-led corporation was committed to transparency and would act firmly against corruption. Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva congratulated the newly elected mayor and deputy mayor, saying the mandate reflected public faith in the BJP's governance model and would help accelerate civic reforms in the capital. Leader of Opposition in the civic body Ankush Narang said the opposition would raise issues such as lack of civic amenities, garbage accumulation, waterlogging, vector-borne diseases and pollution, and push the BJP-led ruling side to work in the interest of Delhi residents. ''The monsoon is coming, but so far neither small drains nor large drains have been cleaned, and no action has been taken on PWD drains. If planning is not done, Delhi will face waterlogging again. We will press the ruling party to take timely steps so people do not suffer,'' Narang said. ''We will also demand preventive measures against malaria, chikungunya and dengue, and push for an advanced pollution-control plan. Despite allocating a large budget last year, even five per cent was not utilised. Wherever the BJP fails, the opposition will expose those failures and work to ensure Delhi's people do not face inconvenience,'' he said. He added that the opposition had played a constructive role over the past year by keeping the organisation intact and ensuring the House functioned smoothly. Congress mayoral candidate Haji Zarif said the party contested the election to uphold democratic values despite lacking the numbers and would continue to raise public issues in the civic body. ''We knew we did not have the numbers, but we fought this election to save democracy and make a sincere effort for the people of Delhi. Congress is playing the role of a responsible opposition and will continue to fight in the future. ''The biggest issues before Delhi today are encroachment and pollution. Rising pollution has turned Delhi into a gas chamber, while illegal encroachments and traffic congestion are worsening the situation. These are matters that must be addressed seriously in the House,'' he said. Earlier, the AAP held the mayoral post, with Mahesh Kumar Khinchi winning the election in November 2024 by just three votes before later losing to the BJP's Raja Iqbal Singh in 2025. The next general election for all 250 MCD wards is likely in 2027, as the House has a five-year term from its first meeting in late 2022, while the mayor's tenure under the DMC Act is one year. The three civic bodies -- East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC), North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) and South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) -- were reunified into a single entity, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, on May 22, 2022.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)