Delhi MCD Mayor Election: Key updates after councillors fight and sleep in House

Delhi MCD Mayor Election 2023: As AAP and BJP members continued to clash over the Standing Committee elections, the House was adjourned till Friday.

A full night and morning of adjournments, pandemonium and fist fights - the fourth session of Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) for the mayoral polls in a nutshell. After Aam Aadmi Party’s Shelly Oberoi and Aaley Mohammad Iqbal were elected as the Mayor and Deputy Mayor, respectively, on Wednesday, the Standing Committee polls became a bone of contention between the two parties.

Some councillors relax while others sleep during the election of members of the standing committee at Civic Centre in New Delhi, Wednesday. (PTI)

As AAP and Bharatiya Janata Party members locked horns through the night, the MCD House was adjourned till Friday without electing any of the committee’s six members.

A look at key developments in the long-drawn tussle so far:

1. After a relatively smooth first half, the ruckus began at around 6 pm as councillors sought to pick six elected members of the civic standing committee - which controls the civic body’s purse strings. The House descended into complete chaos as members of both parties crowded the well and later came to blows on a day the city got a new mayor.

2. The uproar was sparked after mayor Shelly declared that mobile phones would be allowed in the polling booth, which was protested by BJP members who called it a violation of the secret ballot process.

3. No headway was made on this front till midnight, which saw at least six adjournments and flinging of slippers, bottles and fruits by the leaders.

4. BJP alleged AAP violated the secret ballot by clicking pictures of their ballots with their smartphones during the secret voting, even as the new mayor alleged that she was ‘attacked’ by BJP members during the standing committee elections.

5. After fighting all night and sleeping inside MCD House on Wednesday, the House met at 8.30 am on Thursday but was adjourned for an hour amid high-decibel sloganeering. The morning session also witnessed a fist fight between women councillors and a ‘flying’ ballot box.

6. Amid full-fledged fights and physical altercations, MCD House saw 14 adjournments in a span of over 14 hours.

7. The House reconvened at 9.30 am but was adjourned till 10 am on Friday shortly afterwards as chaos continued over the election of six standing committee members.