Delhi Govt, MCD Agree To Conduct Mayoral Election On February 16

The proposal is to be further sent to Delhi LG for final approval.

Representational Image. (File Photo)

The Delhi government and MCD on Thursday arrived set February 16 as the date for elections for Delhi's Mayor, Deputy Mayor & members of the standing committee, news agency ANI reported.

The proposal is to be further sent to Delhi LG for final approval.

#UPDATE | Delhi govt and MCD arrive at a consensus for February 16 as the date for elections for Delhi's Mayor, Deputy Mayor & members of the standing committee. The proposal is to be further sent to Delhi LG for final approval. https://t.co/t2bWUY4yeB

— ANI (@ANI) February 9, 2023

This comes only hours after the Delhi administration, led by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, asked Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena to hold mayoral elections on February 13 and 14.

However, when the Delhi civic body said that a hearing on this subject is pending before the Supreme Court on February 13, the Kejriwal government agreed to the MCD's plan to hold mayoral elections on February 16.

However, the MCD proposal has yet to be accepted by the Delhi L-G.

Earlier, the Supreme Court had requested comments from L-G, the MCD presiding officer, and others on a petition to hold the mayoral elections sooner.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) filed a petition with the Supreme Court on Tuesday, a day after the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) House failed to elect a mayor, deputy mayor, and standing committee members for the MCD for the third time due to a scuffle.

The AAP even protested outside the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters over the postponement of the Mayoral election for the Delhi civic body.

BJP वालों शर्म करो
संविधान की हत्या बंद करो

BJP द्वारा तीसरी बार Delhi Mayor चुनाव स्थगित करवाने के ख़िलाफ़ AAP MLAs, पार्षदों और कार्यकर्ताओं का BJP कार्यलय के बाहर ज़बरदस्त विरोध प्रदर्शन। pic.twitter.com/WsNsQOUmZw

— Aam Aadmi Party Delhi (@AAPDelhi) February 7, 2023

Both the AAP and the BJP have accused each other of postponing the mayoral elections. The appointment of aldermen and their voting privileges in the House is the key cliffhanger.

Kejriwal's party has protested to the presiding officer's statement that the lieutenant governor's aldermen will vote in the election.

The AAP, which has a majority in the Delhi civic body with 134 out of 250 elected members, said that the BJP was attempting to steal its mandate by granting voting powers to nominated members.

The mayoral election was originally set on January 6. However, the House was postponed due to a scuffle between the two sides. On January 24, a second session was convened, which saw similar events.

(With Inputs From Agencies)