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Delhi Education Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely on Tuesday said the main reason for the loss of the Congress Party in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) polls was that the vote share was distributed among the independent candidates, and that the party lacked behind in giving special emphasis on local issues. "These all are things, which we need to work on. The important thing is that due to local issues, due to more independent parties, the vote share was distributed among independents and others; that is the main reason for loss of Congress," he said, when asked whether ticket distribution was a problem this time for the Congress. Lovely, however, said the performance of the Congress is much better this time in comparison to the last MCD polls. "This is the verdict of the people we accept that. We do hope that the BJP will work for the welfare of Delhi and I wish them all the luck. But if you will see the results, things are much better than the last MCD elections," he said. The BJP is now certain to retain its hold over the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). The BJP is so far leading in 146 of the 272 wards; the Congress is leading in 75, a gain of nine over the last time. Polling for all 272 wards spread in three civic bodies -- East, South and North -- were held on Sunday in which 55 per cent of the 1.15 crore voters exercised their franchise. There were 104 wards each in South and North Delhi and 64 in the East. About 138 seats were reserved for women. South had 904 candidates, the highest followed by the North (885) and the East (634).

Congress leader Lovely holds votes distribution as reason for defeat in MCD polls