On April 29, 2026, Pravesh Wahi, a Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) Councillor from Rohini E ward, won the position of Mayor of the Delhi Municipal Corporation (MCD) with 156 of 165 votes, defeating Congress' Mohammad Zarif. He is now the Leader of the House in the MCD.
Pravesh Wahi is a Khatri Punjabi, whose family fled Rawalpindi in what is now Pakistan. Wahi attended an MCD school in Old Delhi for his primary education, and earned a Bachelor of Arts from Shivaji College, Delhi University, in 1984. Wahi became a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in his teenage years, the beginning of his political journey.
Political Career
Wahi began his political career in 1990 as an area organiser of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and was elected as district president in 1998. He joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2002 as a member of the BJP Yuva Morcha, and has served in various party positions.
He was first elected as councillor from Rohini (then Naharpur ward) in 2007, and re-elected and served as councillor from 2012-2017, including as chairman of the Rohini zonal committee (2010-2012) and standing committee in the erstwhile North Delhi Municipal Corporation (2016-2017).
Key Positions Held by Pravesh Wahi
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Councillor, Rohini/Naharpur wards (2007, 2012-2017, 2022-present)
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Chairman, Rohini Zonal Committee (2010-2012)
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Chairman, Standing Committee, North MCD (2016-2017)
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Leader of the House, MCD (current)
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Mayor, MCD (elected April 29, 2026)
MCD Elections 2022 and 2026
As a three-time councillor, Wahi secured a huge margin in Ward 53-E (Rohini E) in the 2022 MCD elections. With a majority in MCD, the BJP nominated him as mayor in 2026; AAP boycotted and he faced Congress. He crushed Mohammad Zarif, with Monika Pant, from Anand Vihar ward, getting elected unopposed as Deputy Mayor.
Wahi has committed to improving sanitation with the aid of Delhi government grants, and said MCD's fiscal problems are over. His priorities align with BJP's urban policy under the one-year mayoral tenure under the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act. The next MCD elections are in 2027.
