In a closely contested election, AAP leader Mahesh Khinchi has been elected as the new mayor of Delhi. Khinchi, a councilor from Dev Nagar in Karol Bagh, won with 133 votes, narrowly defeating the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate, who received 130 votes. Of the 265 votes cast, two were declared invalid, tipping the balance in Khinchi’s favor.
BY PC Bureau
This victory is significant for AAP, as the party retains the mayoral position amidst a prolonged power struggle with the BJP in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). Khinchi, who will be the third mayor from the Scheduled Caste community, succeeds his AAP colleague, Shelly Oberoi, in this role.
The voting took place at the MCD House and saw the involvement of prominent leaders from both parties, including AAP MPs Sanjay Singh and ND Gupta, along with all seven BJP Lok Sabha MPs from Delhi. In a notable twist, Congress councillor Sabila Begum resigned from her party on election day, announcing her support for the AAP candidate—a decision her husband shared on social media platform X by posting her resignation letter.
Originally slated for April, the mayoral election faced delays due to political disputes between AAP and the BJP, leading to a potentially shortened term for the newly elected mayor.
