Delhi likely to get its new Mayor today, polls to be held after 3 failed attempts

New Delhi: After three failed attempts by the municipal body to hold the election to the top post, Delhi Mayoral elections will be held on Wednesday in which the city is expected to get its new Mayor following the Supreme Court’s ruling on the matter.

The polling will take place at 11 am after the Supreme Court stepped in and ruled that the election to the Mayor of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi shall be conducted first. The court also said that the aldermen (nominated persons) would have no right to vote.

The last three attempts to elect the Mayor failed due to the political bickering between the Aam Aadmi Party and Bharatiya Janata Party. The civic centre met for the first time on January 6, second on January 24 and last on February 6.

Aam Aadmi Party, which won the MCD polls, with 134 seats has fielded Shelly Oberoi for the mayor’s post while Rekha Gupta, a three-term councillor from Shalimar Bagh, is the BJP’s nominee.

In the last meeting, Presiding officer Satya Sharma of the BJP administered oath to the aldermen, the members nominated by Lt Governor Vinai Saxena before administering the oath to the elected councillors.

A plea was thereafter filed in the Supreme Court challenging the Delhi LG’s decision to permit the nominated members to vote, after which the top court on February 8 issued a notice to the LG.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also had sent a proposal to the LG to conduct elections on February 22 which was approved on February 18.

As per the order issued by the Lieutenant Governor, elections for the mayor, deputy mayor and six members of the standing committee will be held on February 22.

“As recommended by Chief Minister, GNCTD, I approve the proposal to convene the adjourned first meeting of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi on Wednesday, February 22, 2023, at 11 am for the election of Mayor, Dy. Mayor and six members to the Standing Committee,” the order said earlier.

A bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud also directed the concerned authority to issue notice for the election of mayor.

According to the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, the Municipal House has to meet within a month after the conclusion of the civic polls and elect the mayor. However, the election has been stalled thrice over the dispute over the voting rights of nominated members.

The House was stalled thrice due to ruckus following differences between AAP and BJP members.

The municipal elections in Delhi were held on December 4 and the results were announced on December 7. Aam Aadmi Party won 134 seats out of 250.