After two failed attempts, the Delhi Municipal Corporation is all set to convene on Monday to elect a mayor for the city. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Sunday wrote to the presiding officer of the MCD, demanding that the alderman be deprived of his vote.
As per the DMC Act 1957, the mayor and deputy mayor are to be elected in the first house after the civic body elections. However, it has been two months since the municipal elections and Delhi is yet to get a mayor.
The first two sessions – on 6 January and 24 January – were adjourned by the presiding officer without electing a mayor, following massive protests between members of the BJP and AAP.
Clash between AAP and BJP councilors
The first session of the 250-member house on January 6 turned out to be a complete waste as the AAP opposed BJP corporator and presiding officer Satya Sharma’s decision to administer the oath to 10 aldermen.
Both the BJP and the AAP claimed that their councilors suffered injuries in an attempt to throw chairs and snatch the presiding officer’s microphone. The AAP councilors along with the presiding officer climbed the table to protest against the decision to first administer the oath to the aldermen appointed by Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena.
The AAP accused the BJP of violating constitutional provisions in its appointments to increase its voting power in the mayoral election as the MCD received nominations for all ten aldermen from the BJP by Lt Governor Saxena, ahead of the first House session on January 6. .
In the second session, the nominated members and then the elected members took oath.
After the swearing-in, the presiding officer and BJP councilor Satya Sharma adjourned the second Municipal Corporation House till the next date.
While BJP members walked out of the chamber raising anti-AAP and anti-Arvind Kejriwal slogans, AAP members staged a peaceful protest in the House for nearly five hours.
Senior AAP leaders, including Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, told reporters after coming out of the House that by not holding the mayor’s election, the BJP was strangling democracy and starting a dangerous tradition.
AAP leader and party MLA Atishi appealed to the Lieutenant Governor to ensure the election of the mayor, deputy mayor and six members of the standing committee at the earliest.
Later, AAP’s mayoral candidate Shelly Oberoi approached the Supreme Court over the delay in holding the mayoral election.
The office of Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena announced in a statement on Wednesday that the third session of the House would be held on Monday. “The LG has approved February 6, as proposed by the Deputy Chief Minister and the Chief Minister, for holding the postponed first meeting of the MCD, and for the election of the mayor, deputy mayor and six-member standing committee,” said VK Saxena. office said in a statement.
You want the elderly to be barred from voting
The AAP on Sunday wrote to the presiding officer of the MCD, demanding that he be restrained from voting in the elections of mayor, deputy mayor and standing committee, saying if this happens, it will be an insult to the people of Delhi.
“It is to reiterate that as per Article 243R of the Constitution India And as provided in the provision of section 3(b)(i) of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi Act, 1957, the nominated members (aldermen) are not entitled to vote in the election.
“Therefore, we humbly request you that under no circumstances the nominated members (Aldermen) should be allowed to vote in the forthcoming elections of Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Standing Committee. Any attempt to vote… will be a direct disrespect and insult to the mandate of the people of Delhi, which sent the Aam Aadmi Party to the MCD with a majority in the 2022 elections,” it added.
delhi mcd election
The civic polls were held on December 4 while the counting of votes took place on December 7.
The Aam Aadmi Party had emerged as a clear winner in the elections, winning 134 wards and ending the BJP’s 15-year rule in the civic body.
The Bharatiya Janata Party won 104 wards to finish second, followed by the Congress which won nine seats in the 250-member municipal house.
delhi mayor candidate
BJP’s mayoral candidate is Rekha Gupta. The nominees for the post of deputy mayor are Aaley Mohammad Iqbal (AAP) and Kamal Bagri (BJP).
Apart from the mayor and deputy mayor, six members of the standing committee of the MCD are also to be elected during the municipal house.
mcd election history
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) came into existence in April 1958. Its mayor wielded influence and gained a great deal of prestige until 2012, when the corporation was split into three separate civic bodies, each with its own mayor.
In 2022, the Center brought a law to integrate North Delhi Municipal Corporation (104 wards), South Delhi Municipal Corporation (104 wards) and East Delhi Municipal Corporation (64 wards) into a single entity. This limited the total number of wards to 250, down from 272 wards earlier.
Thus, after the upcoming mayoral election, Delhi will get a mayor for the entire city after a gap of 10 years.
It was also the first municipal election after the redrawing of wards, a practice necessitated after amalgamation.
The post of mayor in Delhi sees five single-year terms on a rotation basis, with the first year reserved for women, the second for the open category, the third for the reserved category and the remaining two also in the open category.
(With PTI inputs)
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