Delhi Mayor Election Postponed Again After Ruckus Between AAP, BJP Councillors

MCD House was again postponed indefinitely during the standoff as councillors gathered to elect the mayor and deputy mayor of Delhi, more than a month after the AAP won the civic body elections.

The high-stakes battle for Delhi's main municipal body, which now hinges on the election of a mayor, was postponed on Tuesday for the second time in weeks, following a new clash between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the BJP. Following the swearing-in of the alderman and elected councillors, the House was recessed for 15 minutes, during which a number of BJP councillors began moving into the House, chanting "Modi, Modi," and raising slogans against AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal, news agency PTI reported. 

News agency ANI posted the video of the incident on Twitter. 

They marched to the AAP councillors' benches and raised slogans, compelling the presiding officer to suspend the House until later, as seen in the video.

The new 250-member MCD House reconvened on Tuesday, with members appointed by the lieutenant governor taking the oath before the elected representatives, eliciting "shame, shame" yells from AAP councillors, according to the PTI report. 

As stated in the report, following the event, the nominated members raised "Jai Shri Ram" and "Bharat Mata ki Jai" chants. A few councillors from both parties then got into a heated debate on one of the House's aisles.

"A House cannot run like this," stated Presiding Officer Satya Sharma. "The House is adjourned till the next date." To avoid a repeat of the turmoil that transpired during the previous meeting on January 6, considerable security was deployed within the municipal House, the Civic Centre premises, and even the Well.

The municipal elections were held on December 4, and the results were counted on December 7. The AAP easily won the election, taking 134 wards and ending the BJP's 15-year reign in the local body. The BJP finished second with 104 wards, while the Congress received nine seats.

In the national capital, the mayor is elected for a five-year term on a rotating basis, with the first year designated for women, the second for the open category, the third for the reserved category, and the remaining two for the open category. As a result, Delhi will have a female mayor this year.

Following the merger of three divisions of the municipal body last year, the city will have one mayor for the first time in ten years.

The mayor will be elected by 250 councillors, seven Lok Sabha and three Rajya Sabha MPs from Delhi, and 14 Legislative Assembly-nominated MLAs. The Speaker of the Delhi Assembly has appointed one BJP MLA and thirteen AAP MLAs to the MCD.

(With Inputs From Agencies)