Atishi, Nirmala or Shalini may become mayor of Delhi: MCD's victory boosts Sisodia's stature, Muslims raise concerns

Atishi, Nirmala or Shalini may become mayor of Delhi: MCD's victory boosts Sisodia's stature, Muslims raise concerns

The Aam Aadmi Party has secured a majority in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections. This is the first time after Arvind Kejriwal became the CM of Delhi thrice that MCD has also been captured by AAP.

Out of total 250 MCD seats, AAP has won 134 seats and BJP 104 seats so far. This election was also very bad for Congress and it won only 9 seats. With this victory, AAP demolished BJP's 15 years old fort.

A day before the results of Gujarat and Himachal assembly elections, this victory of AAP has also brought many messages for national politics. Many big leaders of AAP are surrounded by allegations of liquor scam and hawala business. Health Minister Satyendar Jain is in jail and questions are constantly being raised on Deputy CM Manish Sisodia. In such a situation, this victory has further strengthened the stature of Manish Sisodia in the party.

However, BJP has won all the three seats Saraswati Vihar, Paschim Vihar and Rani Bagh in Minister Satyendar Jain's constituency Shakurbasti. AAP's defeat in 3 out of 4 wards in Manish Sisodia's assembly constituency has been shocking. On the other hand, BJP has registered victory in all the three wards of Kalkaji, the seat of Atishi Marlena.

Manish Sisodia may get a big role

The MCD elections were also challenging for the Aam Aadmi Party in the sense that these elections were being held simultaneously with Gujarat. Arvind Kejriwal was fully engaged in campaigning in Gujarat. This victory is going to go to Manish Sisodia's account.

According to sources in the Aam Aadmi Party, after this victory Manish Sisodia may get a bigger role in Delhi and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal may be free to grow at the national level. For Sisodia, this role can also be of CM.

Apart from Manish Sisodia, the preparation of MCD was on the shoulders of leaders like Raghav Chadha, Atishi, Sanjay Singh, Saurabh Bhardwaj. The victory of MCD has put these leaders in the first category. A new leadership will emerge for the party in the form of these leaders and it will benefit in the spread of the party across the country. There are also assembly elections in Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh in the coming days.

AAP lost in Muslim populated areas

Despite getting majority in MCD, there is a matter of concern for AAP. The party has been defeated in areas with Muslim population. In Okhla, the assembly constituency of Delhi Waqf Board chairman and MLA Amanatullah Khan, the AAP could win only one ward out of five. Congress and BJP have won in two wards each. Shaheen Bagh comes in this area, where the movement against CAA-NRC started.

In Nehru Vihar, the ward of Delhi riots accused former councilor Tahir Hussain, the Aam Aadmi Party came third. Tahir was expelled from the party after the riots. Riots broke out in February 2020 during the agitation against the CAA. 53 people had died in the riots. The maximum impact of the violence was in Shiv Vihar, Mustafabad, Seelampur, Bhajanpura, Vijay Park, Yamuna Vihar and Maujpur. AAP has lost badly here.

Similarly, in Seelampur, independent candidate Hajjan Shakeela has won. On this seat, the AAP candidate had withdrawn his name and supported Shakeela. The BJP had also fielded four Pasmanda candidates, but all of them lost. The BJP had given tickets to Shabnam Malik from Mustafabad, Irfan Malik from Chandni Mahal, Shamin Raza Qureshi from Qureshi Nagar West and Saba Ghazi from Chauhan Bangar.

Atishi, Nirmala and Shalini in the mayoral race

As soon as AAP gets majority in MCD, the first question that arises is who will be the mayor now? According to reliable sources of AAP, the party has already made preparations for this also. The name of Atishi Marlena is currently at the forefront of this race. However, he will have to leave the post of MLA for this.

Apart from Atishi, AAP leader Nirmala Devi can also be made mayor. Nirmala Devi is the state convenor of the women's unit of the party. Apart from this, the name of counselor Captain Shalini Singh is also in discussion.