EC gives nod for Delhi mayoral polls; govt, LG at impasse over presiding officer

With the ECI’s nod, only the appointment of a presiding officer by LG VK Saxena remains. With the CM in jail, it’s unclear whether the LG office would accept the file

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Wednesday granted permission for the Delhi mayoral polls to be held on April 26, according to a communique from the ECI to the Delhi chief electoral office.

On Tuesday, the municipal secretary’s office issued an order saying the office of the legislative assembly secretariat has endorsed members of the MCD. (Sanjeev Verma/HT photo)

With the ECI’s nod, only the appointment of a presiding officer by lieutenant governor (LG) VK Saxena remains.

With the chief minister in jail, it remains unclear whether the LG office would accept the file.

An order signed by the ECI undersecretary KP Singh on April 24 said: “I am directed to refer to proposal received on April 22 ...and to state that the commission has no objection from Model Code of Conduct angle to the proposal made therein. Department concerned may be informed.”

On Tuesday, the municipal secretary’s office issued an order saying the office of the legislative assembly secretariat has endorsed members of the MCD. Of the 14 nominated members, one member — OP Sharma, the MLA from Vishwas Nagar — is from the BJP and the rest of them are from the AAP.

The appointment of a presiding office continues to remain a matter of contention between the AAP government and LG Saxena. The presiding officer appointed by the LG oversees the polls for the election of the mayor, who, soon after winning the polls, will take over from the presiding officer to hold the polls to elect the deputy mayor.

Delhi urban development minister Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged that the elected government was being bypassed in the appointment and the file was sent to chief minister’s office despite Arvind Kejriwal being lodged in judicial custody. He also alleged that a “Chandigarh mayor-like conspiracy” may take place.

On Wednesday, Bharadwaj said: “In the Chandigarh mayor elections, the file was secretly sent to the LG without showing it to the elected government. I believe that there could be a conspiracy within it to appoint a BJP councillor as the presiding officer and through that, there could also be a conspiracy to commit dishonesty in the elections. Otherwise, there is no reason why you (LG) should hide the elected government and get the presiding officer appointed by LG. This is wrong. That’s why I wrote a letter to LG sir to return that file and that the file should go through me, i.e., through the elected government urban development minister.”

On April 24, the minister wrote to the chief secretary, seeking an explanation of the provisions which empowered him to bypass the elected government while sending the file to the LG’s office. Earlier, Bharadwaj had requested Saxena to return the file and route it through the urban development ministry.

A senior official, on request of anonymity, said that the relevant file for nominating a presiding officer for the MCD elections was dealt with as per law and sent to the office of CM, adding “it seems minister wants to enter in the shoes of chief minister.” The official cited sections of GNCTD and DMC Act to support the argument.

An official with the LG’s office said that the secretariat was still awaiting the file for nominating the presiding officer, duly signed by the chief minister, as done in the past.

The appointment and role of the presiding officer for the mayoral election was a matter of contention in the previous election last February last year as well. The AAP-led government argued that last year, the recommendation of the government was not accepted by the LG and he appointed BJP councillor Satya Sharma as the presiding officer. Several decisions taken by Sharma were also challenged and the matter went to the Supreme Court. After several attempts to hold elections in meetings marred by pandemonium and violence, AAP councillor Shelly Oberoi was finally elected mayor on February 22, 2023.