BJP candidate Sundar Singh won the last vacant seat in the Delhi Municipal Standing Committee by 115 votes. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Nirmala Kumari did not get votes in the polls. Voting on the final standing committee took place on Friday despite strong objections from the AAP. The government chose to boycott the vote, citing disagreements over the electoral process. Additional Commissioner Jitendra Yadav supervised the election, presiding over the absence of the chief minister and deputy chief minister.
Mayor guidelines and AAP provisions
Earlier, Delhi Mayor Shelley Oberoi had urged the MCD commissioner to go ahead with the appointment of the sixth standing committee member on October 5. However, AAP decided not to participate in the process, resulting in an unopposed victory for the BJP candidate.
The BJP on Friday won the last vacant seat in the 18-member Delhi Municipal Corporation standing committee unopposed after the Aam Aadmi Party and Congress boycotted the polls. While BJP candidate Sundar Singh got all the 115 votes cast by party councillors, Opposition candidate Nirmala Kumari got none. As a result, the BJP now controls 10 seats in the committee while the AAP holds eight seats, giving it more leverage to pass major proposals.
BJP accused of harassment, can challenge results
AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal accused the BJP of "stealing the mandate" and called the election process "hooliganism". It was reported that AAP may challenge the election results in court. The ruling party, including the Congress, boycotted the elections citing irregularities. The Congress had earlier said it would abstain from polls to remain neutral and avoid "horse trading".
Mayor postpones election, LG overrules
Earlier, Mayor Shelly Oberoi postponed the elections to October 5 due to the uproar over councillors’ corruption. Delhi's Lt Governor V K Saxena, however, directed that the polls be held on Friday. Saxena replaced the chief minister with new commissioner Jitendra Yadav to preside over the meeting, which AAP condemned as unconstitutional.
Kejriwal criticises the process
Kejriwal condemned the LG's actions, saying the polls were not given proper notice and only the chief minister can preside over the MCD meeting. He called the election a “chaos” and criticised the bypass of elected representatives.
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