The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday nominated Rohini E ward councillor Pravesh Wahi as its candidate for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) mayoral election scheduled for April 29. Wahi currently serves as the leader of the House in the MCD.
Expected easy victory
With the BJP holding a majority in the House and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) not contesting the mayor and deputy mayor elections, Wahi is expected to secure a comfortable victory. The party's strong position in the 250-member House, where it has 123 councillors, further solidifies his prospects.
Background of Pravesh Wahi
A three-term councillor, Wahi's family migrated from Rawalpindi and belongs to the Khatri Punjabi community. He studied at an MCD primary school in Old Delhi and has been associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) since his early teens. He served as an area representative of the Vishva Hindu Parishad in 1990 and later as a district president in 1998.
Wahi joined the BJP Yuva Morcha in 2002 and went on to hold various organisational positions within the party. He was first elected as a councillor in 2007 from Rohini, then Naharpur. His second tenure was from 2012 to 2017. He also served as chairman of the Rohini zonal committee from 2010 to 2012 and as chairman of the standing committee in the erstwhile North Corporation from 2016 to 2017.
Priorities if elected
Expressing gratitude towards Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and other Delhi government ministers for nominating him, Wahi stated that the MCD's financial crisis was no longer an issue. If elected, he said he would focus on significantly improving sanitation services with the support of the Delhi government, which has been providing funds.
We took over the MCD a year ago and since then have been making all efforts to improve its functioning. I expect and request the opposition to help run the House smoothly and allow discussions on genuine issues, Wahi said.
He added that the BJP would prioritise improvements in sanitation, parks, streetlighting, and the time-bound management and flattening of landfills. We will also focus on strict implementation of solid waste management rules. While agencies have been engaged to minimise waste transfer to landfills, residents must contribute through segregation at source. Delhis roads will be made pothole-free in collaboration with the Delhi government, he said.
Deputy mayor and other nominations
BJP councillor Monika Pant from Anand Vihar has filed her nomination for the post of deputy mayor. The Congress party has nominated Kabir Nagar councillor Haji Zarif and Mubarakpur councillor Rajesh Kumar Gupta for the mayor and deputy mayor posts, respectively. Congress functionaries said the partys objective was to provide corruption-free governance and better civic amenities. We are not hungry for power, but the voice of Delhis people, its councillors said.
For the vacant seats in the standing committee, the BJP has nominated Begumpur councillor Jai Bhagwan Yadav and public health committee chairman Manish Chaddha. Yadav, a former teacher in an MCD school, is serving as a councillor for his second term. The AAP has filed a single nomination for the third seat, fielding Jalaj Kumar from Shalimar Bagh. Thursday was the last day for filing nominations.
House composition and opposition
On March 31, nine out of the 18 standing committee members retired, and three members will now be elected from the House on April 29. In the 250-member House, the BJP currently has 123 councillors, while the AAP has 100. The remaining strength includes 15 councillors of the Indraprastha Vikas Party (formed after splitting from the AAP), nine Congress councillors, one Forward Bloc member, and one Independent councillor, while one seat is vacant.
The AAP has given a second term to Ranjeet Nagar councillor Ankush Narang as leader of the opposition. AAP raised issues such as waterlogging, pollution, dengue, Yamuna cleaning, and the deteriorating sanitation system last year. This time, too, we will continue to act as the voice of the people, he posted on X.
