EC Approves MCD Mayoral Elections on April 26, Despite LG Delay
The Election Commission of India (EC) has given its consent for the mayoral elections of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) scheduled on April 26. However, uncertainty still looms over the exercise as Lieutenant Governor (LG) VK Saxena is yet to appoint a presiding officer.
Sources at LG’s office stated that the file regarding the appointment should come from the chief minister’s office, and the urban development department was not competent to approve and forward it to the LG.
This development came a day after Urban Development Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj wrote to LG Saxena, alleging that a file related to the appointment of the presiding officer for the MCD mayoral polls was sent directly to LG’s secretariat by chief secretary, bypassing him. Bharadwaj requested Saxena to return the file to Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar with the instruction that it should be rerouted through the urban development minister.
The presiding officer conducts only the mayor’s election. EC sources confirmed that the file had been approved and sent back to Delhi Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) for conducting the elections. CEO’s office also confirmed the receipt of clearance from EC and would forward it to the department concerned and MCD.
The civic body had sent a formal request to EC seeking the permission since the model code of conduct for the Lok Sabha elections is in force.
For the mayor and deputy mayor elections, AAP has nominated Mahesh Khichi from Dev Nagar ward and Ravinder Kumar from Aman Vihar, while BJP has chosen Kishan Lal from Shakurpur and Neeta Bisht from Sadatpur, respectively. AAP’s Vijay Kumar from Trilokpuri ward has also filed nomination for the deputy mayor’s seat as a rebel candidate. Another AAP councillor, Narendra Kumar from Manglapuri, had withdrawn his papers on Monday.
On Tuesday, Delhi assembly speaker nominated 14 MLAs as members for MCD to take part in the elections. The list includes only one BJP MLA, while the rest are from AAP. On the same day, MCD municipal secretary’s office also issued an agenda for a meeting and the elections as per Delhi Municipal Act. The agenda was distributed with a note that the election would take place subject to EC’s permission and the nomination of a presiding officer by LG.
AAP has a majority in MCD House with 134 out of the 250 councillors belonging to it. Nine Congress councillors are also extending full support to it. BJP has 105 seats, and there are two Independent councillors. Additionally, seven Lok Sabha members from BJP and AAP’s three Rajya Sabha members will also vote.
In December 2022, AAP had won the first elections to the merged MCD. In February 2023, AAP’s Shelly Oberoi won the mayoral election by bagging 150 votes while BJP’s Rekha Gupta got 116 votes. AAP’s Aaley Mohammad Iqbal had won the deputy mayor’s post.