Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Mahesh Kumar Khichi on Thursday won the Delhi Mayoral Polls defeating the BJP rival Kishan Lal.
Khichi, a Dalit candidate fielded by the Arvind Kejriwal-led party, defeated the BJP's Kishan Lal by a wafer-thin margin of 3 votes. Khichi, the AAP councillor from Karol Bagh's Dev Nagar ward, received 133 votes, while Kishan Lal of the Shakurpur ward got 130 votes.
The AAP candidate had received 135 votes, however, two votes were declared invalid. Meanwhile, there was also cross-voting by the AAP councillors as 10 members from Kejriwal's party voted for the BJP candidate. The eight councillors of the Congress did not participate in the voting process demanding a full term for the mayor rather than the truncated tenure now on offer.
Following its defeat in the mayoral poll contest, the BJP withdrew from the race for deputy mayor, clearing the way for the AAP's Ravinder Bharadwaj to secure the position unopposed.
"Many congratulations to Mahesh Kumar ji on being elected as the new Mayor of Delhi. Work diligently for the people, take forward the good work being done in MCD," AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal said in a post on X.
The AAP candidates emerged victorious after a closely-contested election in the MCD, following months of tension between the Kejriwal-led party and the BJP. The polls, initially scheduled for April, were postponed due to procedural delays.
The day began with an uproar in the MCD House as the Congress councillors, led by the Leader of the Party Nazia Dhanish, raised slogans and stormed into the well.
Dhanish accused the administration of denying a Dalit mayor a full term. The Congress members raised slogans accusing the AAP of being anti-Dalit, while the AAP councillors responded with chants in support of Kejriwal.
In a dramatic twist, Congress councillor Sabila Begum resigned from the party just ahead of the voting. Her resignation letter, posted online by her husband, revealed her intent to support the AAP nominee.