As voting for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) polls began on Sunday, its result will have a far-reaching political impact which will not be limited to Delhi but the impact will also be felt upon the country's politics in the upcoming days.
Both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) were seen giving their all while campaigning for the polls in Delhi.
Despite facing successive defeats in the elections to the Delhi Legislative Assembly, the BJP remained virtually unbeatable in the MCD elections. Neither Congress' Chief Minister Sheila Dixit nor Arvind Kejriwal could defeat the BJP despite reaching the peak of their popularity.
The BJP has a strong hold in the Municipal Corporation since 2007.
In 2007, the Congress coalition government under the leadership of Manmohan Singh headed the Centre and Sheila Dikshit was the Delhi CM, in spite of this the people voted for the BJP in the municipal elections.
In 2011, the then CM Sheila Dikshit divided the Municipal Corporation of Delhi into three parts -- North, East and South Delhi Municipal Corporations to weaken the hold of the saffron party.
Despite this, the BJP came to power in all the three corporations defeating the Congress in the MCD polls of 2012.
In the last elections held in 2017, a big change occurred in the powers of the Centre and Delhi wherein the BJP-led NDA coalition government with Narendra Modi becoming the Prime Minister and Arvind Kejriwal serving as the CM with a thumping and historic majority.
In 2022, the BJP wants to prove that it remains the first choice of people in the municipal elections.
If the BJP wins, it will enthuse the BJP cadre and will surely affect the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. At present, all seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi are held by the BJP.
On the other hand, for the AAP, winning the MCD elections is being considered crucial in view of their future politics.
The AAP, which has aspirations of expansion in the national politics, needs a booster to win the MCD elections as its victory will increase Kejriwal's stature in the national politics and his acceptance among the opposition parties.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress and many other regional parties have been constantly trying to bring all the opposition parties on one platform, but the Congress has so far isolated the AAP from the process.
For the past several years, the BJP has been dominating the MCD and all the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi, but the results of the elections may affect some of the seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Both the BJP and AAP are aware of the far-reaching political impact of the MCD election results, and for the Congress, this election is more about its revival in Delhi politics.