MCD election results highlights: BJP wins Delhi, AAP leaders blame EVMs, Congress decimated

The BJP was on Wednesday retained the three municipal corporations in the national capital for the third term in a row, handing a humiliating defeat to the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP and the Congress.

The AAP was at a distant second and the Congress was in third place.

The elections carry wider national ramifications as an emphatic victory for the BJP will only add to its image to invincibility and leave a divided opposition further demoralised in the run up to the national elections in 2019.

The BJP has controlled the city’s civic bodies for a decade.

Here are the counting day highlights:

7 pm: Delhi State Election Commission says civic polls were carried out smoothly, and dismisses allegations of EVMs being tampered with. “Everything went well... EVMs are tamper-proof, there is nothing to doubt. No one can pressurise EC,” State Election Commissioner, SK Srivastava says

6.45pm: Poll numbers show AAP’s Pinki Tyagi lost Chhatarpur seat by a mere two votes to BJP’s Anita Tanwar. Click here to read the full story

6pm: AAP’s Delhi convenor Dilip Pandey resigns from his designation over the party’s loss in MCD elections

5.25pm: Arvind Kejriwal’s former mentor Anna Hazare blamed the party leadership for AAP’s loss, saying they failed to live up to expectations. Click here to read the full story

4.43pm: AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal congratulates BJP for their victory in the polls. Click here to read the full story

3.40 pm:Delhi will be garbage-free in three months, says Manoj Tiwari after BJP’s MCD victory. Click here to read Tiwari’s Hindustan Times interview.

3.33 pm: MCD election result trends:

3.00 pm: BJP president Amit Shah says the party’s win in the Delhi civic polls is a vote in favour of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s three years in power and a vote against the “negative politics” of the AAP. Click here to read the full story.

2.45 pm: PC Chacko offers to resign as Congress’ Delhi in-charge, says: “Both of us (Maken and I) in a way failed in our responsibility, party should have opportunity to put things in order and improve situation.”

2.27 pm: Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP has been handed a “capital punishment” by the people of Delhi in the civic polls for his “arrogant and confrontational politics”, Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu says. Click here to read the full story.

2.19 pm: The Delhi municipal poll results offer a big lesson to the Aam Admi Party (AAP) and chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, writes DK Singh.

2.01 pm: Modi factor, fresh faces: Five reasons why BJP is winning MCD elections.

1.51 pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s tweet on BJP’s MCD election performance: “Grateful to the people of Delhi for the faith in BJP. I laud the hardwork of (Delhi BJP) team... which made the resounding MCD win possible.”

1.30 pm: Activist Anna Hazare on AAP’s performance in the MCD elections: “There was a difference between what was said and what was done.”

1.18 pm: Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari says he hopes Delhi government works in coordination with municipal corporations for Delhi’s sake.

1.10 pm: Click to read why PM Modi’s victory may sound alarm bells for BJP MLAs.

12.58 pm: Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari: “We dedicate this win to CRPF jawans who lost their lives in Sukma attack.”

12.56 pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP swept the municipal corporation polls in Delhi, a remarkable comeback from its poor show in the 2015 assembly election. Click here to read the full story.

12.49 pm: Former chief minister Sheila Dikshit says the Congress should have campaigned aggressively to challenge the BJP, which appeared poised to retain control of Delhi’s civic bodies despite facing 10 years of anti-incumbency. Click here to read the full story.

12.37 pm: BJP leader Subramanian Swamy: “I think the President should dismiss the Delhi government and order fresh elections. AAP’s support has evaporated. It was done in 1977; SC also upheld it.”

12.26 pm: AAP MLA Alka Lamba: “Taking responsibility for defeat in all three wards, I offer to resign as MLA and from all party posts.”

12.24 pm: “BJP’s remarkable victory in MCD polls is reaffirmation of people’s faith in PM’s leadership and Shri Amit Shah’s organisational skills... Congratulations to BJP karyakartas and Delhi BJP President Shri Manoj Tiwari on registering an emphatic victory in MCD polls,” tweets BJP leader and Union minister Rajnath Singh.

12.19 pm: The BJP has won 25 wards, AAP four and Congress three wards till 12.19pm. Voting for 270 of the total 272 wards of the three municipal corporations saw around 54% voting on Sunday. Election was countermanded in two wards following the death of candidates.

12.16 pm: In East MCD, BJP wins 22 wards, AAP gets three. The Congress is yet to open its account. The AAP and Congress win eight seats each in North MCD. The BJP gets 29.

11.50 am: BJP chief Amit Shah: “2015 mein isi EVM se Kejriwal chun kar aaye the, iska jawab dein.”

11.46 am: Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken: “We have made a reasonable comeback... I hoped for a better performance. We because I could not meet the expectations, I have decided to resign... For one year, I will not take up any post in the party; will work as a party worker.” Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken spearheaded the Congress challenge to revive its fortunes in the city where it had won three successive assembly elections till 2013.

11.42 am: “MCD election results have pushed Modi’s victory chariot forward... The results show negative politics won’t work... I congratualte Manoj Tiwari and all our party workers,” says BJP chief Amit Shah.

11.41 am: Aam Aadmi Party leader and Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia: “BJP leaders had written books on EVM tampering , now same leaders saying EVMs are fine.”

11.40 am: MCD election result trends:

11.30 am: Sanjay Goel of BJP wins from Vivek Vihar, ward 29 East.

11.10 am:

11.00 am: North MCD: AAP: 20; BJP: 48; Congress: 11; Others: 6.

10.55 am: The impact of Wednesday’s MCD election verdict will be felt way beyond the Capital. The BJP is seeking a hat-trick in the civic body polls and a win will help the party keep up the momentum of its big victories in recent assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Here is what the MCD elections verdict will mean for the BJP.

10. 52 am: “Winning and losing is a part of democracy, one must accept mandate of the people with maturity,” says BJP leader and Union minister Nitin Gadkari.

10.49 am: Aam Aadmi Party candidate wins from Shakurpur ward in North MCD by 1,393 votes.

10.39 am: “Aggressive campaign karna chahiye tha, maine campaign nahi kiya kyunki kisi ne mujhe kaha hi nahi”: Former Delhi chief minister and Congress leader Sheila Dikshit.

10.37 am: Approximate vote share: BJP: 36%; AAP: 25%; Congress: 20%; BSP: 4%

10.30 am: Despite the MCD election sweep, the BJP won’t celebrate its victory. Here’s why.

10.25 am: MCD election result trends:

10.13 am:”The BJP is the only viable option available for the voter today. That is why the BJP has been given mandates at every level; I thank the voters of Delhi,” says BJP leader and Union minister J Singh.

10.12 am: “The public doesn’t know... EVMs are malfunctioning... The BJP is the centre of corruption, and people are still voting for it? Can you tell me about even one achievement of the BJP in Delhi?” says AAP’s Ashutosh.

10.07 am: “This is not a Modi wave, but an EVM wave. This is the same wave that they (BJP) used in the Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Punjab polls,” says AAP’s Gopal Rai after trends show the BJP leading in all three municipal corporations in Delhi.

10.02 am: AAP’s Gopal Rai to speak to media shortly. A meeting has been called by Arvind Kejriwal to discuss the AAP’s MCD election performance.

9.46 am: The BJP is leading in all three corporations. But the party said it will not celebrate its victory. “It is because of the Sukma incident,” BJP’s Delhi spokesperson Aman Sinha said. Maoists killed 25 paramilitary personnel and injured six in Chhattisgarh’s south Sukma region on Monday, in an ambush possibly to thwart a crucial road link the government believes would hurt the rebels.

9.45 am: Trends:

9.40 am:

9.38 am: The BJP wins two wards in South MCD -- Janakpuri west by 1347, Janakpuri south by 5362 votes.

9.37 am: Yogendra Yadav tells ANI: “People have ended up rejecting the CM (Chief Minister) and electing the PM”. Yadav, who now leads the Swaraj India, had earlier written an open letter to Kejriwal and challenged him to win at least 50% in the civic polls or step down.

9.32 am: The BJP reaches the magic number in East, too -- leading in 35 seats.

9.26 am: The BJP reaches the magic number in north MCD -- leading in 52 wards.

9.25 am: Thirty-eight per cent vote share for the BJP in the North corporation so far. The BJP went into the municipal polls after changing many of its sitting candidates following apparent feedback that they were facing anti-incumbency. A win will be a vindication of the party’s electoral strategy as also a cap in the feather of its Delhi unit chief Manoj Tiwari, who was appointed to the post in December last year, months before the civic polls.

9.20 am: Trends:

9.10 am:

9.02 am: The BJP is headed for a majority in North and South MCD -- leading in more than 40 seats. Fifty-two seats are needed for majority in South and North MCD; 33 required in East. For the AAP, an adverse outcome will act as a dampener to the party’s plans to expand its footprint in states such as Gujarat and Rajasthan.

8.58 am: Trends of 56 wards in South MCD: BJP: 35; AAP: 10; Congress: 10; INLD: 1.

Trends of 25 wards in East MCD: BJP: 13; AAP: 3; BSP: 1; Congress: 7.

Trends of 53 wards in North MCD: BJP: 37; AAP: 11; Independent: 2; Congress: 5

8.48 am: The BJP is leading in 73 wards, Congress in 16 and AAP in 13. For the Congress, a good performance in the civic polls will mean a political revival in Delhi after the party failed to win a single seat in the last assembly polls.

8.46 am: The BJP is leading in all the three MCDs. Counting of two rounds has been completed.

8.40 am: Yogendra Yadav’s Swaraj India is leading in three seats in North, one in South and two in East. Kejriwal’s former party colleague, Yadav had earlier written an open letter to the chief minister and challenged him to win at least 50% seats in the civic polls or step down.

8.39 am: Early trends: BJP is leading in 44 seats, Congress in 10 and AAP in four.

8.27 am: In south MCD, BJP takes lead on 9, Congress on 1. AAP yet to take lead. The election results will determine whether the sway of the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP, which stunned people by bagging 67 seats out of 70 in the 2015 Delhi assembly polls, still prevails. It will also decide whether the AAP will be able to put behind its humiliating Rajouri Garden bypoll defeat.

8.26 am: AAP takes lead in three seats in north MCD. The BJP is leading in 11, congress in 3.

8.25 am: Counting of postal ballots is on. Trends will start coming by 9am.

8.23 am: In north MCD, BJP is leading in six wards, Congress in four and AAP on two.

8.19 am: MCD election vote counting -- then and now:

8.12 am: In the Dwarka ward in south MCD, the BJP is leading by 599 votes after first round.

8.11 am: In south MCD, BJP is leading on three seats, BSP on one.

8.10 am: First trends from East MCD yet to come. The AAP takes lead at one ward in north MCD.

8.08 am: BJP is leading in three seats in north MCD. Congress on one.

8.07 am: Early trends show the BJP is leading in five wards. The party is seeking a hat-trick in the civic body polls and a win will help it keep up the momentum of its big wins in recent assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

8.00 am: The counting of MCD election votes has begun.

7.58 am: Senior BJP leader RP Singh tells ANI: “I am hopeful that party will get more than 200 seats but whatever the outcome is we won’t blame EVM for it.”

7.53 am:

7.51 am: Former Delhi minister and Delhi Pradesh Congress chief Arvinder Singh Lovely, former deputy Speaker of the Delhi assembly Amrish Singh Gautam and former Delhi Commission for Women chief Barkha Shukla Singh are among those who walked out of their parties to join the BJP. Will this hurt the AAP and Congress? Early trends on the MCD election results are expected by 11am.

7.43 am: What’s at stake for the BJP, Congress and Aam Aadmi Party in the MCD elections? Click here to find out

7.35 am: The results of the municipal elections are likely to have a wider impact on Delhi’s politics. Click here to read about six things you should look out for as the results trickle in.

7.20 am: A total of 2,537 candidates were in the fray for the 104 seats each of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation and the South Delhi Municipal Corporation, and 64 seats of the East Delhi Municipal Congress. The three civic bodies cover 68 of the 70 constituencies of the Delhi assembly. Two other smaller civic bodies are the Delhi Cantonment Board and the New Delhi Municipal Council.

7.11 am: On polling day, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal attacked the State Election Commission, saying 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.

7.02 am: Exit polls have predicted the BJP will make a clean sweep while the AAP and Congress will lag far behind.

The polling for the three civic bodies in Delhi took place on Sunday, registering a total turnout of 53.6%, barely a notch higher than 2012. As many as 18 political parties are in the fray in the civic elections, with key contestants being the BJP, Congress, AAP, JDU, Swaraj India, BSP and Shiv Sena. The elections are being closely watched across the country as they are expected to have ramifications beyond Delhi.

7.00 am: Good morning. Welcome to the Hindustan Times’ live coverage of the Delhi municipal election results. The counting of votes polled in 270 wards will start at 8am. Polling had to be cancelled and rescheduled in two wards - Sarai Pipal Thala and Maujpur - after the death of two candidates.

Though the results will be declared by the state election commission after 5pm, early trends should be available by 11am. The winner, if there is no fractured mandate, should be clear by 2pm.

The results will show if the BJP has been able to keep up its political momentum, if the Congress party has been able to revive itself in the metropolis, and if the ruling Aam Aadmi Party has been able to build up its base among the people.