VK Saxena nominated BJP corporator Satya Sharma as the pro-tem speaker. (file)
new Delhi:
Just before the election of Delhi’s new mayor, the power struggle between Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena escalated dramatically.
After nominating 10 members to the newly elected Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCS), Mr Saxena today named a BJP corporator as the pro-tem Speaker to preside over the mayoral elections.
Wrote a letter to the Honorable Lieutenant Governor against the illegal and unconstitutional manner in which notification has been made on the Aldermen. pic.twitter.com/SdTVcujtGn
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) January 5, 2023
Expressing “disappointment and helplessness”, Arvind Kejriwal accused the Lieutenant Governor of sidelining his government in Delhi and a “completely unconstitutional, charlatan exercise of power”.
In a letter shared on Twitter, the Delhi chief minister said Mr Saxena “has left no stone unturned to interfere and disrupt the administration and functioning of the Delhi government.”
Kejriwal also accused Mr Saxena of trying to influence the election and deliberately choosing members so that the civic body is “skewed” towards the ruling BJP.
The tug-of-war intensified in Delhi as Mr Saxena chose a BJP leader as temporary speaker to preside over the mayoral election yesterday, ignoring AAP’s recommendation.
After 15 years, the meeting of the newly elected Municipal Corporation will be held for the first time after AAP’s victory in the December elections by ousting the BJP.
Mr. Saxena named BJP corporator Satya Sharma as pro-tem speaker in place of AAP member Mukesh Goyal, recommended by the Delhi government.
Satya Sharma has previously been the Mayor of East Delhi Municipal Corporation. Mukesh Goyal is the senior-most councilor in the new body.
The AAP won 134 of the 250 wards in the first municipal elections held last year after the redrawing of constituencies and their merger with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). The BJP finished second with 104 seats and the Congress ended with nine.
In a U-turn, the BJP said it will not contest the mayoral post, announcing its candidate.
Three names are in the running for the mayor’s post – Shaili Oberoi and Ashu Thakur from AAP and Rekha Gupta from BJP.
Upset over the decision of the Lieutenant Governor – who represents the Center in Delhi and reports to the Union Home Ministry – AAP accused the ruling BJP of destroying all democratic traditions.
AAP MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj tweeted, “It is a convention that the senior-most member of the House is designated as the Speaker Pro-tem or Presiding Officer. But the BJP is bent on destroying all democratic traditions and institutions.”