The annual election for the post of mayor and deputy mayor in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) is set to be held on April 26. This is the same day when the second phase of voting for the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 will take place.
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This year’s MCD polls refresh the memory of the high drama that had ensued during the mayoral elections last year —
This year too, the drama continues…
No presiding officer — who oversees the MCD election process — has been appointed with less than one day left for the elections.
Delhi Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)alleged that the chief secretary bypassed him and sent the file related to the appointment of the presiding officer for the MCD mayoral polls directly to theOffice.
In a letter, “the AAP leader asked the chief secretary to explain which legal provisions empowered him to bypass the elected government while sending the file on the appointment of the presiding officer directly to his Office,” officials .
Bharadwaj also requested Saxena to return the file to the chief secretary with an instruction that it should be re-routed through the urban development minister. Bharadwaj is the urban development minister in the AAP-led Delhi government.
Bharadwaj told ANI that generally, the sitting Mayor plays the role of presiding officer in the mayoral elections. Currently, Shelly Oberoi is the outgoing Mayor. He alleged that the authorities “either want to appoint a presiding officer from BJP or want to delay the elections”
When is the MCD mayoral elections?
The MCD mayoral poll is scheduled to be held on Friday, April 26. Elections on April 26 will be held for the post of
“The ordinary April (2024) meeting of the MCD will be held on at 11 am on April 26,” the MCD reportedly said in a notification. The election of the mayor and deputy mayor will be held in the same meeting.
The said on Wednesday it has no objection to the MCD mayoral polls scheduled for April 26. However, the approval for the presiding officer’s appointment is yet to come from Saxena’s office.
This time the mayor’s post is reserved for Scheduled Castes.
MCD mayoral elections: Who are AAP and BJP candidates?
The AAP has fielded Mahesh Khichi for the mayor’s post and Ravinder Bhardwaj for the deputy mayor’s post. Khichi, 45, represents Dev Nagar ward number 84 in the MCD House. He has been associated with the AAP since its inception in 2012. Meanwhile, Ravinder Bhardwaj represents Aman Vihar ward.
— Vijay Kumar and Narendra Kumar — had filed their nominations for the deputy mayor’s post. This indicated internal conflict within the party. However, Narendra Kumar withdrew his nomination later, without citing any reason.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded Kishan Lal for the post of mayor and Neeta Bisht for the deputy mayor’s post.
MCD mayoral elections: Who can cast votes?
Apart from all the 250 councillors, 10 MPs (seven Lok Sabha and three Rajya Sabha) and 14 MLAs (one fifth of the total 70 MLAs in Delhi assembly) can cast vote in the mayoral election. This takes the total electorate count to 274.
A candidate needs 138 votes (one more than half of 274) to win the post of the mayor.
MCD mayoral elections: Who is likely to win? — here’s what numbers say
Currently, the , while the BJP has 105 councillors. There are a total of 250 members in the MCD House.
This year, the mayoral polls. The parties are also part of the Opposition’s INDIA bloc.
Now, the . It may also have support of one of three Independent councillors. This would takes its numbers of electors to 151. The AAP candidate will also have support of nine Congress councillors, as promised by the party.
If all the nine Congress councillors chose to support AAP candidate, then the total electors in favour of the AAP will be rise to 160 — the number comfortable to win the mayoral polls.
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Meanwhile, the BJP has 105 councillors, one nominated MLA and seven Lok Sabha MPs. The party’s total stands at 113. Even if the two independent councillors in the MCD chose to vote for the BJP, its tally can only reach 115. These 23 votes short of meeting the majority mark.
It is speculated that since the officer during the election, the AAP may have the upper hand from the beginning.
(With inputs from agencies)
