BJP prepares for byelections

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday intensified its preparations for the upcoming by-elections in 12 wards of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, with senior leaders holding a series of organisational meetings and public gatherings across the city.

At a review meeting at the state BJP office in the morning, the party’s national general secretary (organisation) BL Santosh addressed ward-level election coordinators, ministers in charge, district presidents, MPs and MLAs. The meeting, chaired by Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva and attended by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, focused on strengthening last-mile outreach in all the wards.

Santosh urged party workers to step up efforts to highlight what he described as the benefits of the “triple-engine government” to voters in every constituency. Noting by-elections often draw limited public interest, he said the organisation must ensure that BJP supporters cast their votes early, preferably before lunchtime.

Sachdeva echoed the concern, adding that since polling is scheduled on a Sunday, voter turnout may remain low and will require focused mobilisation by ground-level workers.

Later in the afternoon, a Tridev Sammelan was held in Dakshinpuri in support of the BJP’s candidate Rohini Raj. Sachdeva, MP Ramveer Singh Bidhuri and minister-in-charge Pravesh Verma addressed the gathering and urged workers to prioritise voter contact in the ward.

Chief Minister Rekha Gupta also held multiple public meetings on Sunday. At a Sammelan in Dhichkaun Kalan in Najafgarh, she highlighted the work done by the BJP government over the past eight to nine months, citing reductions in pollution levels and improvements in transport, healthcare and education facilities in rural parts of the city. She later campaigned in Shalimar Bagh.

In Ashok Vihar, Union Minister of State Harsh Malhotra, MLA Poonam Sharma and state treasurer Satish Garg addressed a local gathering. Malhotra said he was confident that voters would endorse the BJP’s development agenda in the municipal by-polls.

Campaigning continued in several other wards. MP Bansuri Swaraj, MLA Shikha Roy and former Speaker Adesh Gupta addressed a meeting in Greater Kailash, while Swaraj later joined MLA Umang Bajaj at a Panna Pramukh conference in Narayana ward.

In Chandni Chowk, the BJP’s candidate Suman Kumar Gupta held door-to-door outreach in Kancha Mohtar Khan, Madrasi Basti and the Gokhale Market-Mori Gate area with party workers.