Delhi Mayor Election: Voting Underway After Long Tussle Between AAP, BJP

Delhi is all set to get its new mayor today as the stage is set for the mayoral election following a Supreme Court intervention.

AAP and BJP members exchange heated arguments during the election of Mayor and Dy Mayor at the Civic Centre, in New Delhi, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023.

Source : PTI

New Delhi: Ending the ongoing tussle between the Aam Aadmi Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party, Delhi is all set to get its new mayor today and voting for the same is underway. This comes after the intervention of the Supreme Court. The election is finally taking place after three failed attempts by the municipal body. The election to the posts of mayor, deputy mayor, and six members of the standing committee will be held today after Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena gave his nod to convene the municipal House last week.

The apex court had on February 17 ordered the issuance of a notice within 24 hours for convening the first meeting of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to fix the date of elections for the mayor, the deputy mayor, and the members of the standing committee of the civic body.

The order was issued by the court after hearing a plea of ruling Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) mayoral candidate Shelly Oberoi, who had sought early conduct of the election.

The apex court also held that the members nominated by the L-G to MCD cannot vote to elect the mayor. According to the Delhi Municipal Corporation (DMC) Act, 1957, the mayor and the deputy mayor are to be elected in the very first session of the House after the civic polls. However, it has been over two months since the municipal elections were held on December 4 last.

The AAP had emerged as a clear winner in the December 4 polls, bagging 134 wards and ending the BJP's 15-year rule in the civic body. The BJP won 104 wards to finish second, while the Congress won nine seats in the 250-member Municipal House.

A month after the municipal polls, the House convened for the first time on January 6. It had adjourned following acrimonious exchanges between members of the BJP and the AAP. The second and third meetings called on January 24 and February 6 also failed to carry out the exercise and were both adjourned without electing a mayor, triggering much political bickering among parties in the two months since the civic polls. The House that will convene on Wednesday will be the reconvening of the adjourned first House that was held on January 6.