NEW DELHI: BJP on Thursday nominated Rohini E ward councillor Pravesh Wahi as its candidate for the MCD mayoral election scheduled on April 29. Wahi is currently serving as leader of the House in Municipal Corporation of Delhi.With BJP holding a majority in the House and AAP not contesting the mayor and deputy mayor elections, Wahi is expected to secure an easy victory.A three-term councillor, Wahi’s family migrated from Rawalpindi and belongs to the Khatri Punjabi community. He studied at an MCD primary school in Old Delhi and has been associated with RSS since his early teens. He served as an area representative of Vishva Hindu Parishad in 1990 and later as a district president in 1998.Wahi joined BJP Yuva Morcha in 2002 and went on to hold various organisational positions in the party. He was first elected councillor in 2007 from Rohini, then Naharpur. His second tenure was from 2012 to 2017. He also served as chairman of the Rohini zonal committee in 2010-12 and as chairman of the standing committee in the erstwhile North Corporation in 2016-17.Expressing gratitude towards chief minister Rekha Gupta and other Delhi govt ministers for nominating him, Wahi said MCD’s financial crisis was no longer an issue. If elected, he said, he would focus on significantly improving sanitation services with the support of Delhi govt, which had been helping with funds.“We took over MCD a year ago and since then have been making all efforts to improve its functioning. I expect and request the opposition to help run the House smoothly and allow discussions on genuine issues,” Wahi said.He added that BJP would prioritise improvements in sanitation, parks, streetlighting and the time-bound management and flattening of landfills. “We will also focus on strict implementation of solid waste management rules. While agencies have been engaged to minimise waste transfer to landfills, residents must contribute through segregation at source. Delhi’s roads will be made pothole-free in collaboration with Delhi govt.”BJP councillor Monika Pant from Anand Vihar has filed her nomination for the post of deputy mayor.Congress has nominated Kabir Nagar councillor Haji Zarif and Mubarakpur councillor Rajesh Kumar Gupta for the mayor and deputy mayor’s posts, respectively. Congress functionaries said the party’s objective was to provide corruption-free governance and better civic amenities. “We are not hungry for power, but the voice of Delhi’s people,” said its councillors.For the vacant seats in the standing committee, BJP has nominated Begumpur councillor Jai Bhagwan Yadav and public health committee chairman Manish Chaddha. Yadav, a former teacher in an MCD school, is serving as councillor for second term. AAP has filed a single nomination for the third seat, fielding Jalaj Kumar from Shalimar Bagh. Thursday was the last day for filing nominations.On March 31, nine out of the 18 standing committee members retired, and three members will now be elected from the House on April 29.In the 250-member House, BJP currently has 123 councillors, while AAP has 100. The remaining strength includes 15 councillors of Indraprastha Vikas Party (formed after splitting from AAP), nine Congress councillors, one Forward Bloc member, and one Independent councillor, while one seat is vacant.AAP has given a second term to Ranjeet Nagar councillor Ankush Narang as leader of the opposition. “AAP raised issues such as waterlogging, pollution, dengue, Yamuna cleaning and the deteriorating sanitation system last year. This time, too, we will continue to act as the voice of the people,” he posted on X.
