The municipal corporation byelections on Sunday across 12 wards in Delhi saw an estimated voter turnout of only 39%, according to data from the state election commission. The EVMs have been moved to strong rooms and the votes will be counted on December 3, officials said.
At 5.30pm, when the polls closed,38.51% of the 700,000 eligible voters people had cast their vote, data showed. Among the 12 wards where polling was held, Chandni Mahal recorded the highest turnout at 55.93% followed by Mundka at 44.5% and Sangam Vihar-A (44.4%) while the Greater Kailash ward registered the lowest turnout at 26.7%.
Shalimar Bagh-B, which was vacated by Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta after she was elected as an MLA, the turnout stood at 37.53%.
Voting began at 7.30 am to a sluggish start with only a 5.4% at 9:30 am, increasing to only 12.63% by 11:30 am, 21.84% at 1:30pm and 31.13% by 3.30pm. To be sure, voting during MCD elections is generally poor and the last elections in 2022 recorded a turnout of 50.48%. In comparison, the Delhi 2025 assembly elections saw turnout of 60.54% and 2024 Lok Sabha elections saw turnout of 58.78%.
11 out of the 12 wards for which the bypolls are being held became vacant earlier this year after their councillors were elected as MLAs. The Dwarka-B seat has been vacant since 2024, when its former councillor Kamaljeet Sehrawat was elected as MP West Delhi.
CM Gupta, along with her family, cast her vote AT government school in AP block, Shalimar Bagh. “Voting is an integral part of the sacred process of our democracy, and our active participation in it further strengthens democratic values. Each of our votes not only determines the direction of local governance but also plays a decisive role in laying a strong foundation for Delhi’s overall development, good governance, and transparency,” Gupta told reporters outside the voting centre.
At polling stations
Speaking to HT, residents who came to vote, said they were concerned about civic issues from the general lack of cleanliness and contaminated water supply to traffic mismanagement and the lack of medicines at hospitals.
36-year-old Ragini Devi, a slum resident in A-block, Shalimar Bagh, said, “They (MCD) haven’t cleaned our sewage system for over a year now. The water that we get is all yellow in colour. Every week someone from my family or in the neighbourhood is sick due to this.”
A resident of ward 65, Ashok Vihar, 18-year-old Bittu Kumar Chaudhary was voting for the first time. “I stay on the 9th floor of the 16-floor DDA flat (Jailerwala Bagh), the lift has been not functioning properly for the past six months and water supply that we get is salty and nowhere close to fit for drinking.”
He added, “Roads are not cleaned properly and heaps of garbage are left at the roadside.”
Elderly and senior citizens appeared to have come out in good numbers. Outside the voting centre in Shalimar Bagh B, 91-year-old Avinash Mitra, said, “We need more hospitals. I am a retired Delhi government serviceman. Despite having all required documents, there have been multiple instances where I have been severely ill and the hospitals refused to admit me, citing lack of space and beds.”
In Chandni Mahal (ward 76), 60-year-old Zaida Azimuddin came to vote along with her husband and three daughter-in-laws. “I have health issues like diabetes and blood pressure. The hospitals give few medicines and ask us to buy others from outside,” she said.
In Greater Kailash, people complained of traffic mismanagement and congestion. “No matter which party wins, the issue of traffic in the locality should be their top priority and secondly, there’s no senior citizen centre in this area,” said 70-year-old retired Delhi government employee Gulshan Soni.
The by-election marks the first direct face-off between the BJP, AAP and Congress since the February 5 Assembly polls. Of the 12 Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) wards, nine were earlier held by the BJP and three by the AAP. Even though the outcome will not alter the power balance in the MCD, the AAP and BJP during their campaign have projected them as a vote on the performance of the newly elected BJP government.