While BJP retained power despite 'anti-incumbency' of 10 years, AAP finished in second place.
New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept to power in the Municipal Coporation of Delhi (MCD) winning the elections held in all 3 municipalities in a landslide on Wednesday.
Votes for the elections were counted at 35 centers across the city. Of these, 16 are in north Delhi, 13 in the south, and six in east Delhi.
Highlights:
All trends are in. BJP has marched to power in MCD with 64 seats in North, 68 in South and 47 in East. AAP is second in MCD North with 21 seats, MCD South with 17 seats and MCD East with 9 seats.
Thanking the people of Delhi, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said that BJP is the only viable option for the voters today, and that is why the people have selected it.
As many as 90,000 security personnel of Delhi Police, paramilitary forces and Home Guards were deployed at counting centres.
Two exit polls had predicted BJP finishing way ahead of the AAP and the Congress with over 200 of the 270 wards where polling was held.
Voting to pick three new municipal corporations in Delhi took place on Sunday, in which 54 per cent of the 1.32 crore electorate exercised their franchise till 5.30 p.m. when polling ended in 270 wards of the three municipal corporations.
On polling day, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal attacked the State Election Commission claiming that reports of "faulty" EVMs were pouring in from across the national capital.
The Aam Aadmi Party chief also alleged that many voters with valid voter slips were "not allowed" to exercise their franchise in the municipal polls. Arvind Kejriwal had earlier demanded that the election be postponed till arrangements for VVPAT-equipped EVM were made.
The state election commission denied the charges.
"EVM has proved that its unhackable. It is a robust machine. Don't think there should be any question related to EVM," State Election commissioner S K Shrivastava said.
Polling did not take place in two wards, Maujpur in east Delhi and Sarai Pipal Thala in north Delhi where a candidate each of the Samajwadi Party died.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) are the three main contenders in the fray.
After losing in this month's assembly by-polls and the February elections in Punjab and Goa, the municipal polls are an acid test for Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Government in Delhi.
Kejriwal's former party colleague Yogendra Yadav, who now leads the Swaraj India, wrote an open letter to the chief minister and challenged him to win at least 50 percent seats in the civic polls or step down.
Even as the Swaraj India and the Janata Dal (United) look to expand base beyond Bihar and Jharkhand, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the AAP and the Congress have roped in top leaders and done whatever they could to woo the voters.