The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has scheduled the election for Mayor and Deputy Mayor on April 26, the Delhi Municipal Corporation Secretary Office announced in a statement issued on Wednesday (April 10). The civil body meeting, set for the same day, will conduct the elections.
"The Ordinary April (2024) meeting of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi will be held on Friday, April 26, 2024 at 11.00 am in Aruna Asaf Ali Auditorium, A-Block, 4th Floor, Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Civic Centre, Jawahar Lal Nehru Marg, New Delhi. Election of Mayor and Deputy Mayor will also be held in this meeting of the corporation," the statement said.
The Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) Shelly Oberoi was unanimously elected mayor of Delhi MCD after BJP candidate Shikha Rai withdrew her nomination last year on April 26. Notably, the mayoral polls took an interesting take when the saffron party candidate for the Deputy Mayor elections, Soni Pandey, also withdrew her candidature. This resulted in AAP's Aaley Mohammad Iqbal, son of MLA Shoaib Iqbal, securing the deputy mayor post for the second consecutive term.
The mayor polls garnered attention and made headlines due to new developments coming every day. Oberoi was elected as the mayor in the fourth attempt by the body to hold elections after three attempts previously. The civic body failed to elect a mayor due to the disruptions caused by the ruling party of the national capital, AAP, and the centre-ruling party, BJP.
The Delhi mayor post witnesses five single-year terms on a rotational basis. It is to be noted that the first year is reserved for women, the second for the open category, the third for the reserved category, and the remaining two again for the open category.
The unification of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) - 104 wards, South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) - 104 wards, and East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) - 64 wards, happened in 2022 after a bill was passed in Parliament.