MCD mayor poll: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has hit back after Delhi Lt-Governor (L-G) VK Saxena, on Thursday, nominated BJP councillor Satya Sharma as the presiding officer for the first House meeting on June 6 to elect the mayor of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).
Reacting sharply to the development, the AAP alleged that the saffron party is adamant on destroying all democratic traditions and institutions. After the high-stakes civic polls on December 4, the mayor and deputy mayor will be elected at the first municipal house when all the new councillors will take the oath of office.
"The Lt-Governor of National Capital Territory of Delhi under section 77 of the Act is further pleased to nominate Satya Sharma, Councillor, Ward No. 226 to preside over the meeting for the election of the mayor," read an official notification. It further stated, "She will be administered oath/affirmation as per section 32 of the Act, by Santosh Kumar Rai, District Magistrate, New Delhi. The other councillors will be administered oath by the Presiding Officer.
As required by section 35 of the Act, the newly constituted civic body will proceed to elect the mayor after the oath ceremony. According to MCD officials, three nominations -- two from the AAP and one from the BJP -- have been received for the post of Mayor.
Candidates in fray for the mayor post
The nominees for the post of Mayor are -- Shelly Oberoi and Ashu Thakur (AAP), and Rekha Gupta (BJP). Oberoi is AAP's main contender. The nominees for the post of deputy mayor are -- Aaley Mohammad Iqbal and Jalaj Kumar (AAP), and Kamal Bagri (BJP).
"The mayor so elected will then assume the chair and proceed to conduct the election of the deputy mayor and six members of the Standing Committee as required under section 35(1) and 45(1)(i) of the Act respectively," the notification added.
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The post of mayor in Delhi sees five single-year terms on a rotation basis, with the first year being reserved for women, the second for the open category, third for the reserved category, and the remaining two also being in the open category.
The mayor to be elected on January 6
Reacting to the notification, AAP MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj tweeted, "It is the tradition that the senior most member of House is nominated as Pro-tem Speaker or presiding officer. But BJP is hell-bent on destroying all democratic traditions and Institutions." The mayoral poll is slated to take place a month after the counting of votes took place on December 7.
MCD elections 2022
The AAP had bagged 134 wards in the MCD polls and ended 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 which will convene on January 6 for the first time after the 2022 civic polls.
This was also the first municipal elections after the redrawing of the wards in the year gone by, the exercise being necessitated after the Centre brought a legislation in Parliament to unify the three local bodies.
The unified Municipal Corporation of Delhi came into effect from May 22, with Gyanesh Bharti and Ashwani Kumar taking charge as its municipal commissioner and special officer, respectively.
(With PTI inputs)
