MCD elections: BJP picks Raja Iqbal for Mayor, Jai Bhagwan for Deputy Mayor’s post

The BJP on Monday fielded former Mayor and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in MCD, Sardar Raja Iqbal Singh, as its nominee for the post of Mayor and picked Deputy LoP in MCD, Jai Bhagwan Yadav, for the post of Deputy Mayor for the scheduled Mayoral polls on April 25.

The announcement was made by Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva. Both the candidates filed their nominations in the presence of Minister of State (MoS) Harsh Malhotra, MPs Yogendra Chandolia, Kamaljeet Sehrawat, and other senior councilors.

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Notably, after AAP’s decision to refrain from contesting the elections, both BJP candidates are expecting a sure shot victory and the party is set to return to power in the civic house after a gap of three years.

Raja Iqbal Singh is a former Mayor of North Municipal Corporation of Delhi, former chairman of the ward committee, Civil Lines zone, while Yadav is among the senior leaders of the party at the municipal level.

The Delhi MCD polls are scheduled for April 25, with nominations for candidates open now.

Currently, AAP controls the mayoral post, as Mayor Mahesh Kumar Khinchi won the election in November 2024 by just three votes.

In the 250-member house, the BJP outnumbers the ruling AAP as it has 117 Councilors while the AAP only has 113, and 8 Councilors are with the Congress.

Currently, 12 seats are vacant which reduces the majority mark to 119, a figure the BJP will cross easily as it has support from 7 Lok Sabha MPs and 11 MLAs chosen by the Delhi Assembly Speaker in contrast to the AAP, which only has support from its 3 Rajya Sabha MPs and 3 nominated MLAs by the Speaker.