Delhi mayor elections called off for third time after ruckus in MCD House

For the third time in a row, Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) mayor elections were called off after members of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the BJP caused a ruckus in the municipal House on Monday.

The House Proceedings, which took place for the third time on Monday, were disrupted after AAP members staged a huge protest over voting rights for alderman.

Aam Aadmi Party Councillors had written to MCD's Presiding Officer on Sunday, demanding the debarment of aldermen in Monday's election of the mayor, deputy mayor and standing committee, reported ANI.

However, the presiding officer on Monday said that aldermen will be allowed to vote in the elections for mayor, deputy mayor and standing committee members.  

According to the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957, the mayor and the deputy mayor are to be elected in the very first House that convenes after the civic polls. However, two months have passed since the municipal elections were held and Delhi is still to get a mayor.

The mayor could not be elected when the House met on January 6 and January 24 after the sessions were adjourned amid a ruckus in the MCD House between the AAP and BJP councillors.

For the current mayor election, AAP has fielded Shelly Oberoi for the mayor's post, BJP's mayoral candidate is Rekha Gupta. The nominees for the post of deputy mayor are Aaley Mohammad Iqbal (AAP) and Kamal Bagri (BJP).

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had emerged as a clear winner in the MCD polls, bagging 134 wards and ending the BJP's 15-year rule in the civic body. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 104 wards to finish second, while the Congress won nine seats in the 250-member Municipal House.

Mayor elections

The mayor of Delhi sees five single-year terms on a rotation basis. The first year is reserved for women, the second for the open category, third for the reserved category, and the remaining two also being in the open category.