BJP's Raja Iqbal Singh elected new Delhi mayor, Jai Bhagwan Yadav deputy mayor
New Delhi, Apr 25 (PTI): BJP’s Raja Iqbal Singh was elected as Delhi’s new mayor on Friday, marking the saffron party’s return to power in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) after two years.
Singh defeated Congress candidate Mandeep Singh by a margin of 125 votes to secure the top civic post, while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) boycotted the mayoral election.
As the mayoral result was announced, the second round of polling for the deputy mayor’s post was expected to take place.
However, Congress candidate Ariba Khan (from Abul Fazal Enclave, Ward 188) withdrew her nomination, clearing the way for BJP’s Jai Bhagwan Yadav to be elected unopposed as Deputy Mayor.
As Singh took his seat, BJP councillors filled the air with chants of “Bharat Mata ki Jai.”
Out of the total 142 votes cast for the mayor’s post, one vote was declared invalid. Iqbal secured 133 votes, while Congress candidate Mandeep Singh received eight.
The BJP lost two votes due to the absence of MP Manoj Tiwari. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had announced a boycott of the election on Monday.
The election was conducted during the general meeting of the MCD.
After being elected, Singh announced that the Standing Committee would be formed within a month and said, “Everyone will work together with commitment.”
“We will try to form the Standing Committee within a month and work in coordination with the Delhi government to ensure people face no problems. Our priorities include making parks greener, curbing corruption and pollution, and scrapping user charges immediately,” Iqbal Singh said.
He added that the party will “motivate” teachers, provide funds for students’ uniforms, and improve school infrastructure.
“The people of Delhi have shown faith in Prime Minister Modi and the BJP. We are committed to serving the city through the MCD and delivering on our promises. All eligible contractual workers under the BMP will be regularised as per rules,” he said.
He said that in the last two-and-a-half years, the development of the capital had slowed down.
“With the support of both the Delhi government and the central government, we will now accelerate the pace of development and complete pending work,” he said.
He also emphasised that "positive initiatives" will be undertaken to improve cleanliness, ensure quality education, and strengthen primary healthcare. Special focus will be given to resolving issues related to legacy waste at landfill sites and waterlogging.
Iqbal Singh was the Leader of the Opposition in the MCD and earlier served as the Mayor of North MCD.
He hails from a family with strong Akali Dal connections. His father-in-law was a councillor from the GTB Nagar constituency, and his brother-in-law was also active in Akali politics.
Iqbal Singh had also served as an Akali Dal councillor from GTB Nagar and headed the Civil Lines Zone of the corporation until September 2020.
Key political figures, including BJP MPs Harsh Malhotra, Praveen Khandelwal, Bansuri Swaraj, Kawaljeet Sehrawat, and Yogendra Chandolia, cast their votes in the mayoral election.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which held the mayor’s post for over two-and-a-half years, completely boycotted the polls.
The last mayoral election, held on November 14, 2024, saw AAP’s Mahesh Kumar Khinchi win by a razor-thin margin of just three votes.
Satya Sharma, a BJP councillor from Gautampuri, served as the presiding officer for the mayoral election for the fourth time. Sharma is a three-time councillor.
At the beginning of the proceedings, Sharma called for a two-minute silence in memory of the 26 people who died in the recent terror attack in Pahalgam.
Despite the BJP’s victory, the party refrained from celebrations and did not garland the newly elected mayor.
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MP minister's veiled remark on Col Sofia Qureshi sparks major row; he apologises, Cong seeks ouster
Bhopal/Indore, May 13 (PTI): Madhya Pradesh Minister and BJP leader Vijay Shah has sparked a major controversy with objectionable comments that appeared to be directed at Col Sofia Qureshi, whom he tried to project as a "sister of terrorists."
Under severe flak, Shah said if anyone is hurt by his statement, he is ready to apologise ten times, adding that he respects Colonel Qureshi more than his sister.
The Congress has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sack Shah from the Madhya Pradesh cabinet.
Colonel Qureshi had conducted regular press briefings, sharing details of the 'Operation Sindoor' launched by Indian armed forces to strike terrorists, joined by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh.
"Those people (terrorists) who had wiped out the sindoor (vermilion) of our sisters (in the Pahalgam terror attack)..We avenged these 'kate-pite' people by sending their sister to destroy them," Shah said.
"They (terrorists) killed our Hindu brothers by making them remove their clothes. PM Modi ji responded by sending their (terrorists') sister in an Army plane to strike them in their houses. They (terrorists) made our sisters widows, so Modiji sent the sister of their community to strip them and teach them a lesson", the BJP leader said while addressing a gathering in Ramkunda village near Indore.
He said, "Revenge was taken for the honour of our country (India), respect, and for the (slain) husbands of our sisters by sending a sister from your (terrorists') community to Pakistan".
The tribal welfare minister clarified that his remarks should not be construed otherwise.
Shah's remarks drew wide-scale condemnation, with Congress demanding his immediate dismissal from the MP cabinet.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said Shah, who made 'derogatory' remarks in reference to Colonel Sofia Qureshi, should be dismissed immediately.
"A minister of the BJP government of Madhya Pradesh has made a very derogatory, shameful and cheap remark about our brave daughter Colonel Sofia Qureshi. The terrorists of Pahalgam wanted to divide the country, but the country was united during the entire 'Operation Sindoor' to give a befitting reply to the terrorists," Kharge posted on X.
He alleged that the BJP-RSS harbours an anti-women mentality.
"First, the wife of the naval officer martyred in Pahalgam was trolled on social media, then the daughter of Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri was harassed, and now the BJP ministers are making such indecent comments about our brave woman Sophia Qureshi," Kharge said and appealed to PM Modi to immediately sack Shah.
Madhya Pradesh Congress president Jitu Patwari shared the video of Shah on X and asked whether the BJP agrees with the minister's "low thinking"?
The MP Congress Committee alleged that Shah's "indecent' and hate-filled" statement is not just a personal attack, but an open attack on India's military dignity, national unity, and women's honour.
Amid the raging controversy, the BJP's Madhya Pradesh general secretary Hitanand Sharma summoned Shah to the state headquarters in Bhopal.
According to sources, Sharma reprimanded the minister, who also met the state BJP president, Vishnu Dutt Sharma.
Speaking to reporters, Shah sought to attribute the intemperate remarks to his "disturbed" state of mind in view of the brutal killing of innocent people in Pahalgam by terrorists.
He claimed many members of his family have a military background and many were martyred.
"Sister Sophia has brought glory to India by rising above caste and religion. She is more respected than our own sister. I salute her for her service to the nation.
"We cannot even think of insulting her in our dreams. Still, if my words have hurt society and religion, then I am ready to apologise ten times,'' he added.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Manoj Shukla and the party workers blackened the nameplate of Shah at his bungalow and raised slogans seeking his resignation.
'हमारी सेना की जांबाज बेटियां आतंकवादियों की बहन हैं'
— Congress (@INCIndia) May 13, 2025
- ये घटिया बात मध्य प्रदेश में BJP सरकार के मंत्री विजय शाह ने कही है।
भारत की जिन बेटियों पर सबको नाज है, उन बेटियों को लेकर ये शर्मनाक बयान दिया गया है। उन्हें आतंकवादियों की बहन बताया गया है।
ये हमारी पराक्रमी सेना का… pic.twitter.com/y591M3ky8G
