The stage is set for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s (MCD) ward and Standing Committee elections on Wednesday, with the BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) engaging in a sharp political battle over numbers, defections and control of the civic body’s zonal panels.

Ahead of the polls, Delhi Mayor Pravesh Wahi said BJP councillors had filed nominations for ward committee elections across all 12 zones as well as for five Standing Committee seats, expressing confidence that the party would consolidate its position in the MCD.

The Mayor said the merger of the Indraprastha Vikas Party with the BJP would strengthen the party in several wards. Targeting the previous AAP-led MCD administration, Wahi alleged that neither the Standing Committee nor the ward committees were constituted during its tenure, which stalled civic development in Delhi. He added that the present “triple-engine government” had accelerated development works and that councillor funds were now being released for projects in their respective wards.

AAP, however, rejected the BJP’s claims and asserted that it remained in a strong position ahead of the polls. Leader of Opposition in the MCD Ankush Narang said the party had already secured the Karol Bagh Zone Chairperson’s post unopposed, which, he claimed, reflected the party’s unity and organisational strength. He said AAP was contesting the remaining zones “with full strength” and was confident of winning most of them.

Narang said the keenest contest would be in the City-SP Zone, where, despite AAP claiming to have a numerical majority, the BJP had fielded a candidate for the Chairperson’s post at the last moment. He alleged that if Independent councillor Imran of Matia Mahal voted in favour of the BJP, it would amount to a “betrayal of the people’s mandate”, claiming that voters in the constituency had consistently rejected the BJP.