MCD bypolls: BJP wins 7 wards, AAP 3, Congress opens account
New Delhi (PTI): The BJP won seven of the 12 wards, while the AAP won three and the Congress secured one ward in the MCD bypolls, the results of which were announced on Wednesday.
The Congress snatched the Sangam Vihar A ward from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The bypolls were held on November 30.
The All India Forward Bloc, backed by local heavyweight Shoaib Iqbal, opened its account with a victory in Chandni Mahal, defeating the AAP candidate.
The civic body bypolls were a litmus test for the BJP, as these were its first big electoral battle after coming to power in the capital in February.
The BJP, which previously held nine of the 12 wards, could not retain the Mundka, Sangam Vihar A and Naraina wards. It, however, managed to wrest the prestigious Chandni Chowk ward back from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
Interestingly, of the seven BJP winners, six were women.
According to the State Election Commission, the BJP secured a vote share of 45.09 per cent, while the AAP and the Congress managed to get a vote share of 34.97 per cent and 13.44 per cent respectively.
The results proved a mixed bag for the AAP, which previously held three of the 12 wards. It lost the minority-dominated Chandni Mahal and Chandni Chowk wards, while it defeated the BJP in Munka, Dakshinpuri and Naraina.
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta expressed gratitude to the voters after the bypoll results were announced.
In a post on X, Gupta said the BJP's victory is a strong testament to the tireless hard work of its workers, and the dedication and collective strength of the organisation.
BJP leaders, including Delhi minister Kapil Mishra, said the AAP has lost face in Chandni Mahal and Chandni Chowk due to its "corruption" record.
During campaigning for the MCD bypolls, several BJP leaders had asserted that the party would improve its tally by winning at least 10 of the 12 wards.
The saffron party had appointed Delhi ministers as in-charges of two wards each. The BJP lost the Mundka ward where Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa was the in-charge, while it also failed to retain the Dakshinpuri and Sangam Vihar A wards that were under the charge of Parvesh Kumar Verma.
Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said the margin of defeat for the party was small in two wards and the results will be reviewed to find out the reasons for the loss.
The BJP won seven wards and the AAP three, while the Congress and the Forward Bloc emerged victorious in one ward each.
BJP's Suman Kumar Gupta defeated AAP's Harsh Sharma by a margin of 1,182 votes in Chandni Chowk.
The saffron party also comfortably won the Shalimar Bagh B ward, with Anita Jain defeating AAP's Babita Rana by a margin of more than 10,000 votes.
The Shalimar Bagh B ward was vacated after BJP councillor Gupta won the Assembly polls and went on to become the chief minister.
The AAP won the Mundka and Dakshinpuri wards, while the Congress's Suresh Choudhary won the Sangam Vihar A ward by defeating the BJP's Subhajeet Gautam.
Choudhary polled 12,766 votes, while his opponent managed to get 9,138 votes.
Delhi Congress chief Devender Yadav thanked the party workers for the victory and extended heartfelt greetings to the people of Sangam Vihar.
BJP's Veena Asija was locked in a close fight with AAP's Seema Goyal but surged ahead to win the Ashok Vihar ward by a margin of 405 votes.
Forward Bloc candidate Mohammad Imran won the Chandni Mahal ward by defeating AAP's Mudassar Usman by a margin of 4,692 votes.
The BJP also won the Dichaon Kalan and Greater Kailash wards and the Dwarka-B ward, which was earlier held by its leader, Kamaljeet Sehrawat, who is now an MP.
BJP's Manisha Rani won the Dwarka-B ward by a comfortable margin of 9,100 votes against AAP's Raj Bala.
AAP's Rajan Arora won the Naraina seat by just 148 votes against BJP's Chandrakanta Shivani.
The counting of votes began at 8 am amid tight security.
The State Election Commission had set up 10 counting centres, one each at Kanjhawala, Pitampura, Bharat Nagar, Civil Lines, Rouse Avenue, Dwarka, Najafgarh, Gole Market, Pushp Vihar and Mandawali.
The strong rooms where the electronic voting machines (EVMs) were stored after polling were secured with adequate measures, including round-the-clock CCTV surveillance and the deployment of paramilitary and Delhi Police personnel.
The vote percentage in the bypolls was 38.51, as compared to 50.47 in the MCD election held for 250 wards in 2022.
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Russian military hardware, spare parts for Indian military to be manufactured in India
New Delhi (PTI): Russia agreed to encourage joint manufacturing in India of military hardware and spare parts for maintenance of Russian-origin arms and defence equipment.
Ways to bolster overall bilateral defence cooperation figured prominently during summit talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday.
It has been a long-standing grievance of armed forces that the supply of critical spares and equipment from Russia takes a long time, affecting the maintenance of military systems procured from that country.
"Both sides agreed to encourage joint manufacturing in India of spare parts, components, aggregates and other products for maintenance of Russian origin arms and defence equipment under Make-in-India programme through transfer of technology," a joint statement said.
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It said both sides also agreed to set up joint ventures for meeting the needs of the Indian armed forces as well as subsequent export to mutually friendly third countries.
The joint statement said the India-Russia defence partnership is being reoriented to take up joint co-development and co-production of advanced defence technology and systems.
In their meeting on Thursday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Russian counterpart Andrey Belousov resolved to expand bilateral defence cooperation.
In the meeting, the Indian side showed keen interest in procurement of additional batches of S-400 missile systems from Moscow to bolster its combat prowess.
In October 2018, India signed a USD 5 billion deal with Russia to buy five units of the S-400 air defence missile systems, notwithstanding a warning by the US that going ahead with the contract may invite US sanctions under the provisions of Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).
Three squadrons have already been delivered.
The S-400 systems played a crucial role during Operation Sindoor. India may also look at procuring the S-500 missile systems from Russia.
In the Modi-Putin talks, the two sides also agreed to continue jointly developing systems of bilateral trade settlements through the use of national currencies.
Additionally, the two sides agreed to continue their consultations on enabling the interoperability of the national payment systems, financial messaging systems, as well as central bank digital currency platforms.
Modi and Putin appreciated the ongoing intensification of the joint work on a free trade agreement on goods between India and the Eurasian Economic Union, covering sectors of mutual interest, the joint statement said.
They also directed both sides to intensify efforts in negotiations on a mutually beneficial agreement on the promotion and protection of investment, it said.
India and Russia also welcomed steps to ensure long-term supply of fertilisers to India and discussed the potential establishment of joint ventures in this area.
