Municipal House to elect Delhi mayor today after two failed attempts; check details
The presiding officer adjourned the previous two sessions, which were conducted on January 6 and 24, without voting for a mayor as the sessions were disrupted by disturbance and bitter exchanges between members of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Aam Aadmi Party.
FollowThe Municipal House in Delhi is set to elect a mayor for the city on Monday, despite two failed attempts. Today's session will be the third following the high-stakes municipal elections on December 4.
The presiding officer adjourned the previous two sessions, which were conducted on January 6 and 24, without voting for a mayor as the sessions were disrupted by disturbance and bitter exchanges between members of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Aam Aadmi Party.
Following the DMC Act 1957, the mayor and deputy mayor are to be elected in the first House that convenes following the civic polls. However, it has been two months since the municipal elections, and Delhi still needs a mayor.
The first session of the 250-member House following the civic polls was completely in vain; in the second session, the nominated members, followed by elected members, took an oath. The presiding officer and BJP councillor Satya Sharma adjourned the second municipal House briefly after the oath-taking ceremony until the following date.
BJP MPs walked out of the chamber raising slogans against AAP and its national convenor Arvind Kejriwal. In contrast, AAP members refused to leave their seats and peacefully protested in the House for nearly five hours.
Before leaving the Civic Centre, AAP senior leaders, including Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, said that the BJP was 'strangulating democracy' and 'starting a dangerous tradition' by 'not allowing' the mayoral election to happen.Â
AAP leader and MLA Atishi had urged Lt Governor V K Saxena to hold elections for mayor, deputy mayor, and six members of the standing committee to be held at the earliest.Â
On Monday, February 6, 2023, the House will hold its third session following the municipal elections. The civic polls were held on December 4, and the vote counting took place on December 7.
The Aam Aadmi Party had emerged as the clear winner in the elections, winning 134 wards and ending the BJP's 15-year reign in the civic body. The Bharatiya Janata Party bagged 104 wards, while the Congress secured nine seats in the 250-member municipal House, which meets for the third time after the 2022 civic elections on February 6. Rekha Gupta is the BJP's mayoral candidate. The nominees for the deputy mayor post are Aaley Mohammad Iqbal (AAP) and Kamal Bagri (BJP).
Additionally, six members of the MCD's standing committee will be elected at the municipal House. The newly-elected MCD House adjourned its first meeting on January 6 without electing the mayor and deputy mayor, despite loud protest from AAP councillors over the presiding officer's decision to administer the oath to the ten aldermen first.
In April 1958, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) was established, and its mayor enjoyed significant power and reputation until 2012, when the corporation was divided into three separate civic bodies, each with its own mayor.
However, in 2022, the Centre introduced legislation to merge the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (104 wards), South Delhi Municipal Corporation (104 wards), and East Delhi Municipal Corporation (64 wards) into a single entity, despite having limited the total number of wards to 250, down from 272 previously. Accordingly, after the mayoral election, Delhi will finally have a mayor after more than a decade.
This was also the first municipal election following the redrawing of wards in the previous year, which was needed when the Centre introduced legislation in Parliament to combine the three local bodies.
On April 5, the Parliament passed the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill-2022, which aims to merge three civic organisations in the national capital into a single entity.
(With inputs from PTI)
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