AAP's Shelly Oberoi unanimously elected as MCD mayor

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elected a new mayor and a deputy mayor today. In today's election, incumbent mayor Shelly Oberoi of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was pitted against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) councillor from Greater Kailash Shikha Rai.   

After Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) nominee Shikha Rai withdrew her name from consideration, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Shelly Oberoi was unanimously chosen to serve as mayor of Delhi MCD. The national capital gets a new mayor after the end of a financial year.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) is governed by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). On February 22, Oberoi was elected Delhi's mayor in what was the fourth try since the previous polls were called off due to controversy over the distribution of voting rights among nominated members. By receiving 150 votes, she outperformed Rekha Gupta of the BJP by a margin of 34 votes. Gupta received 116 of the 266 total votes cast.

The position of mayor of the nation's capital is filled on a rotating basis for five one-year terms: the first year is reserved for women, the second year is available to all candidates, the third year is reserved, and the last two terms are again open to all candidates.

The civic polls held on December 4 last year were the first after the three corporations were unified into the MCD and a fresh delimitation exercise was carried out, reducing the number of wards from 272 in 2012 to 250. The AAP had emerged victorious in the high-stakes polls.

The unification of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (104 wards), South Delhi Municipal Corporation (104 wards) and East Delhi Municipal Corporation (64 wards) happened last year, with a notification issued to that effect in May 2022.