Dates For Delhi MCD Polls To Be Announced In Next Few Days As Centre Plans Merger Of 3 Civic Bodies

Delhi deputy CM Manish Sisodia has launched an attack on the BJP government for pressurising EC and on its diktats and said BJP is anxious about losing elections.

Voters line up at a polling booth to cast their vote for MCD polls (File photo: getty)

New Delhi: The Delhi State Election Commission (SEC) on Wednesday said it will announce the dates for conducting elections for the three municipal corporations in Delhi in the next few days. 

Addressing a press conference, State Election Commissioner (SEC) of Delhi, S K Srivastava, said, "I have received some communication from the central government at 4.30 PM, so I am not able to announce the dates right now".

Earlier, he was scheduled to announce the dates during the press conference at 5 PM.

"We were about to announce the dates, but now it will take another 5-7 days to announce them," he added.

"The government perhaps desires 'reorganisation of MCD'. May be they could re-unify the three corporations, so we have to think over it, and then announce MCD poll dates. We will examine their advice," he told reporters.

Srivastava said, "If the three corporations are unified, then we will have to decide accordingly. We are taking legal opinion on the issue".

Meanwhile, Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia has launched an attack on the BJP government for pressurising EC and on its diktats and said BJP is anxious about losing elections as quoted by news agency ANI.

EC is afraid of central govt, BJP has pressurised EC & on its diktats, EC didn't announce MCD election dates. BJP is anxious about losing elections. They know AAP will win over 250 seats & are making an excuse of unification of MCDs: Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia pic.twitter.com/jcmJReGtpb

— ANI (@ANI) March 9, 2022

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has also reacted and said that MCD elections have been postponed.

"BJP ran away. MCD election postponed, conceded defeat. Delhiites are very angry. Saying dare they not conduct the elections? Will forfeit their bail now. In our survey, we were to win 250 of the 272 seats. Now more than 260 will be ours. But the Election Commission should not have come under BJP's pressure," he said in a tweet.

भाजपा भाग गयी। MCD चुनाव टाल दिया, हार मान ली

दिल्ली वाले खूब ग़ुस्सा हैं। कह रहे हैं इनकी हिम्मत कि चुनाव ना करायें? अब इनकी ज़मानत ज़ब्त करायेंगे

हमारे सर्वे में अभी 272 में से 250 सीट आ रहीं थीं। अब 260 से ज़्यादा आएँगी

पर चुनाव आयोग को भाजपा के दबाव में नहीं आना चाहिए था

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) March 9, 2022

There are 104 wards each in the North and the South Delhi Municipal Corporations. The East Delhi Municipal Corporation has 64 wards.

(With PTI inputs)