Bypoll results show Cong regaining vote bank in Delhi: Chacko

Buoyed by its win in the bypolls to one of the two municipal wards, the results of which were declared today, the Congress claimed that it shows that the party was getting back its "lost vote bank" in Delhi.
Congress candidate Mukesh Goel won the Sarai Pipal Thala ward, which falls under North Delhi's Adarsh Nagar Assembly constituency, by a margin of 2,743 votes.
Addressing a press conference, Congress' Delhi in-charge P C Chacko said the AAP candidate failed to secure his deposit in the ward which indicates how voters were "unhappy" with the Aam Aadmi Party.
"AAP candidate even lost his deposit in the bypoll to Sarai Pipal Thala ward. In the 2015 Delhi Assembly elections, the Congress' vote share was a mere 9.5 per cent, which has now gone up to 39 per cent," he said.

In the Sarai Pipal Thala ward, BJP's Mangat Ram Sharma and AAP's Rajeev Kumar Bansal finished second and third respectively.
However, AAP candidate Reshma won the Maujpur ward by 699 votes and the Congress finished second.

Chacko said the Congress had expected to come first in the the MCD elections, but the BJP did the most "unethical" thing of taking away some of the party's "opportunistic leaders", which affected its chances.
He said it was very satisfying for the party that it came first in the MCD bypoll.
Voting for the rest of the 270 wards of the three municipal corporations in the national capital was held on April 23 and the results were announced on April 26.

The BJP retained control of the three corporations by bagging 181 of the 270 wards, while the AAP managed to win only 48 seats while the Congress was reduced to a poor third with a tally of just 30.
In Sarai Pipal Thala ward, Samajwadi Party candidate Dinesh Singh had died following which polling there had to be postponed. His son Himanshu was in the fray in the bypoll.
In the Maujpur ward, the polling was also postponed due to the death of Samajwadi Party candidate Naseema. Her daughter Shaheen was in the fray this time.