In a closely contested election, AAP leader Mahesh Khinchi has been elected as the new mayor of Delhi. Khinchi, a councillor from Dev Nagar in Karol Bagh, secured 133 votes, narrowly defeating the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate, who received 130 votes.
Out of 265 total votes cast, two were declared invalid, tipping the balance in favor of Khinchi.
The mayor election marks a significant victory for AAP, which has managed to hold onto the mayoral position amid a longstanding power struggle with the BJP in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).
Mahesh Khinchi will become the third mayor from the scheduled caste community and will take over the role from his AAP predecessor, Shelly Oberoi.
The voting process, held at the MCD House, witnessed participation from prominent leaders of both AAP and BJP, including AAP MPs Sanjay Singh and ND Gupta and all seven BJP Lok Sabha MPs from Delhi. Adding to the drama, Congress councillor Sabila Begum announced her resignation from the Congress party on the day of the election, stating that she would cast her vote for the AAP candidate, a move her husband publicized by posting her resignation letter on social media platform X.
The mayoral election, originally scheduled for April, faced delays due to political disagreements between the ruling AAP and the BJP opposition, resulting in a likely shortened term for the newly elected mayor.
