LG nominates AAP councillor to preside over Delhi mayoral polls

The issue of appointment of presiding officer has been a source of friction between the AAP-led Delhi government and LG VK Saxena

Delhi lieutenant governor VK Saxena on Monday approved the Delhi government’s proposal to nominate Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Mukesh Goyal as the presiding officer for the mayoral elections slated to be held on Wednesday, senior LG secretariat officials said on Monday.

Education minister Atishi and MCD Mayor Shelly Oberoi during a press conference in New Delhi on Monday. (HT Photo)

On April 21, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had proposed Goyal’s name to chair the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) House meeting which will elect the mayor and deputy mayor for the current financial year.

The nomination of the presiding officer had emerged as a contentious issue ahead of the first mayoral polls after the MCD unification in February, with the AAP alleging that the LG chose a Bharatiya Janata Party councillor (Satya Sharma) ahead of the senior most member of the House (Mukesh Goyal). During the February 22 session, Sharma took controversial decisions -- allowing nominated aldermen to take oath before the councillors and then allowing them to vote in the polls, both of which were later overturned by the Supreme Court.

Read: Stage set for second round in MCD mayoral polls

The mayoral polls are being held at a time when the municipal corporation is in a limbo with the civic body yet to elect the powerful Standing Committee and zonal ward committees in the aftermath of a bitter feud holding up the mayoral polls. Also, courts are seized of two important matters that will have a bearing on the structure of the corporation. While the Delhi high court will hold a hearing on a petition challenging the February 24 Standing Committee elections, on May 3, the Supreme Court will hear May 2 a petition by the Aam Aadmi Party challenging the nomination of 10 aldermen by the LG.

Goyal, who is also the leader of the House, was earlier associated with Congress. He was elected as the Standing Committee chairman of the unified MCD between December 2003 to April 2006. He was also appointed as presiding officer for holding mayoral election in the erstwhile North MCD in 2021.

During the appointment of presiding officer for the inaugural meeting, which was held on January 6, LG had rejected Goyal’s name. The LG office had argued that Goyal, who had been recommended by the CM/Deputy CM, was eliminated because he was under investigation for bribery charges. AAP had refuted these allegations while stating that no FIR had been filed against him.

On April 21, Kejriwal had said that “in accordance with the tradition”, he has approved the name of senior most councillor and sent the file to LG. “The decision is binding on LG unless he decides to refer the matter to President,” he had said.

Read: AAP sticks with Shelly Oberoi, Aaley Iqbal as mayoral candidates in MCD

AAP has fielded its incumbent mayor Shelly Oberoi and deputy mayor Aaley Iqbal for the April 26 election, who will be facing BJP’s Shikha Rai and Soni Pandey. After three failed attempts at meetings marred by violence and pandemonium, Oberoi was elected as the mayor of Delhi on February 22, by defeating the BJP candidate Rekha Gupta by 34 votes.

The electoral college for the two posts consists of 250 elected councillors, nominated 14 MLAs and 10 MPs.

In a separate development, the AAP has also changed one of the nominated MLAs to be members of the corporation in 2023-24. Kalkaji MLA Atishi has been replaced by the Mehrauli MLA Naresh Yadav, according to notification issued in Delhi Gazette on April 19, which has been sent to the MCD secretariat

Atishi was elevated as cabinet minister on March 9. While the MLAs are rotated over the five-year MCD term, the ten MPs remain permanent members of the House.

Meanwhile, the municipal corporation has finalized the preparations for holding the polls. A senior MCD official said that the meeting notice and agenda has been shared with all the 274 members of electoral college before the 74-hour mandatory notice period. “We have finished the process for printing of ballot papers. Multiple TV screens are being installed at ground floor for the telecast of the house proceedings. We have also written to Delhi police for providing adequate forces to avoid any scenes that were witnessed in previous meetings,” the official added.