The field is open for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Raja Iqbal Singh to be chosen as the next Mayor of Delhi on Friday, as Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has decided to boycott the mayoral election en masse. The poll, which will take place on April 25, comes after there was a big change in the power play in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) following a spate of AAP to BJP jumps.
The BJP has 135 councillors backing it in the 274-strong electoral college, while the AAP’s 119 members have kept away and 12 seats are empty. The Congress, with only eight councillors, put up its candidate Mandeep Singh from Nangloi, but his chances are thin unless AAP does a rethink.
As per a senior MCD official, the candidates can withdraw nominations prior to voting. “If Congress withdraws, BJP will win unopposed. Even otherwise, Raja Iqbal Singh is all but assured of victory,” the official stated.
Raja Iqbal Singh (54) is a two-time councillor from Mukherjee Nagar ward and has been the Leader of Opposition in the MCD for more than two years. He was also the Mayor of North MCD before the civic body was unified. Singh belongs to a political family with origins in the Shiromani Akali Dal.
Addressing a press conference on Thursday, outgoing mayor Shelly Oberoi reaffirmed AAP’s decision to boycott the elections to the mayoral and deputy mayoral posts, attributing it to unjust conditions and “undemocratic limitations” imposed on councillors.
“With BJP now holding power at the municipal, state, and central levels, we expect them to deliver on their promises without excuses. AAP will now play the role of a constructive opposition,” Oberoi said.
The BJP’s monopoly at all three tiers of government—municipal, state, and center—demonstrates a comeback to the “triple-engine” model of governance, the last time it existed between 2004 and 2007 under the Congress regime. The phrase represents harmonized control that, in principle, can push development at a rapid pace, although earlier stints were also tainted with corruption scandals.
Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor claimed AAP’s boycott signals internal chaos. “Their councillors are disillusioned and breaking away. This boycott is an attempt to avoid cross-voting embarrassments and internal dissent,” Kapoor said.
He added, “With the BJP set to take over the MCD, Delhi’s development will finally gain momentum under the triple-engine leadership.”
AAP’s fortunes in the MCD have turned upside down since its 134-seat win in 2022 over BJP’s 104. Shelly Oberoi defeated BJP’s Rekha Gupta by 34 votes in February 2023. But come November 2024, the difference narrowed down to three votes, indicating increased evidence of cross-voting and switchovers.
In the wake of BJP’s victory in the 2025 Delhi Assembly polls, several AAP councillors jumped ship, ensuring BJP a definite majority in the MCD. The anti-defection law governing state assemblies doesn’t extend to municipal corporations, allowing the BJP to ascend the civic body.
If the Congress withdraws its candidate or the vote proceeds as expected, Raja Iqbal Singh is all but confirmed to be Delhi’s next mayor. With a solid BJP majority, attention now turns to how the new administration plans to fulfill its development promises and restore administrative momentum in Delhi’s civic governance.
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