The debutant Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has made its entry in Madhya Pradesh politics after winning mayoral post of Singrauli Municipal Corporation, the district which is filled with coal mining and also called - 'energy capital of India'. AAP candidate Rani Agrawal has won the election for mayoral post against BJP's Chandra Prakash Vishwakarma.
Agrwal won the election by a margin of 9,159 votes, leaving the BJP and Congress at second and third position. AAP candidate received a total 34,038 votes, BJP 24,879 and Congress nominee Arvind Chandel got 24,60 votes.
A year before the Assembly elections to be held in 2023, Agrawal's victory has come as a morale booster for AAP cadre in Madhya Pradesh.
AAP convenor and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had campaigned for her in a road show in Singrauli. After Agrawal's victory, Kejriwal congratulated her in a tweet, saying, "I congratulate Singrauli mayor elections winning candidate Rani Agrawal ji, other winners and party workers. You should continue to work hard for the people. The people across the country are liking the honest politics of the Aam Aadmi Party."
Born in 1976, Rani Agrawal has been a sarpanch of Baragwa village panchayat. She was also elected from ward 3 as a zila panchayat member. Agrawal had also contested the 2018 Assembly elections from the Singrauli seat, but had lost. She stood third and secured 32,500 votes.
While the counting of votes for 11 municipal corporations in the first phase was underway (till the story was filed), the Congress won Jabalpur and led in Gwalior seats and the BJP was leading in both Bhopal and Indore.
The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen registered its first electoral victory in Madhya Pradesh in the urban body polls with its woman candidate winning the corporator's post in Khandwa city.
Polling was held for mayoral posts in 11 municipal corporations, including Bhopal, Indore, Gwalior, Jabalpur, Sagar, Satna, Singrauli, Chhindwara, Khandwa, Burhanpur and Ujjain. A total of 101 candidates are fighting for the mayoral posts.
The counting of votes for the second phase of the MP municipal elections will be held on July 20.