With the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) all set to emerge victorious in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) polls for a third consecutive term, a poster has been put up outside the saffron party’s central office at 11, Ashoka Road here dedicating the win to the CRPF jawans, who lost their lives in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma attack.
The poster featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi with other party leaders has been put up outside the BJP headquarter.
The early trend of the counting for MCD, which began earlier today, shows the BJP in the lead, followed by the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) at second place and the Congress party at third.
The initial figures show that the BJP is leading in 109 wards, the AAP in 28 and the Congress in 22 . BJP won Janakpuri West and Janakpuri East seat.
The fierce triangular competition has put on stake reputation of the three major parties on stake.
Where the BJP will be fighting against anti-incumbency, the Congress will be jostling for a comeback and for AAP, it will save its image post Goa and Punjab poll debacle.
Pollsters have predicted a big win for the BJP, while the AAP and the Congress have been shown competing for a distant second spot.
Votes for the elections will be counted at 35 centers across the city. Of these, 16 are in North Delhi, 13 in the South, and six in East Delhi.
As many as 90,000 security personnel of Delhi Police, paramilitary forces and Home Guards have been deployed at the counting centres.
Voting for three new municipal corporations in Delhi took place on Sunday, in which 54 percent of the 1.32 crore electorates exercised their franchise till 5.30 p.m.
However, the polling did not take place in two wards, Maujpur in east Delhi and Sarai Pipal Thala in north Delhi where a candidate each of the Samajwadi Party died.
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 Muncipal Corporation, and 64 seats of the East Delhi Municipal Congress.
For the first time in the MCD elections, the None Of The Above (NOTA) option has been made available.
As many as 25 CRPF personnel were killed and six others injured in the encounter with the Naxals in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma on Monday.
The attack took place on personnel of the CRPF’s 74th Battalion as they were assisting the local population in road building activity in the district.
The Centre, yesterday, assured action against the perpetrators of the ‘cold-blooded murder’ in Sukma.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that the Centre and state government would work together to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to book.
Singh, who paid homage to the jawans during a wreath laying ceremony in Raipur said that this cowardly and unfortunate act exposes desperation and frustration.
“It is a cold blooded murder by the extremists. The Centre and state governments will work together and take action in this regard,” Singh told a joint press briefing with the Chief Minister here.
