MCD elections preparations on hold, state poll body issues notice

MCD elections were scheduled to be held in Delhi in April. However, the polls were postponed after the Centre expressed its intention to merge the three civic bodies in the city.

Making it official that the MCD polls in Delhi will now be delayed, the State Election Commission has put on hold all preparations for the polls to the three municipal corporations.

Delhi MCD elections were scheduled to be held in Delhi in April. (Photo by Arun Sharma/ Hindustan Times)

MCD elections were scheduled to be held in Delhi in April. However, the polls were postponed after the Centre expressed its intention to merge the three civic bodies in the city. The Parliament passed the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Act, 2022 on April 5, and the Centre notified it after the President’s assent on Monday.

“….pursuant to the enactment of ‘The Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Act, 2022, whereby the three municipal corporations in Delhi have ceased to exist and have been replaced by a unified single Municipal Corporation, I S.K Srivastava, state election commissioner …do hereby keep on hold all preparatory steps for the conduct of general election to three municipal corporations of Delhi, and rescind the notifications with immediate effect..,” the notification issued by the poll panel on April 20, the last working day of Srivastava as state election commissioner, stated.

Earlier, the commission had made all preparations for conducting the general elections such as appointment of officers, expenditure observers, adoption of electoral roll and symbol order, development of web-based software and mobile apps, etc. The SEC was scheduled to announce the dates of the MCD polls on March 9 in a press conference, but in a dramatic turn of events the polls schedule announcement was postponed after the central government communicated to the SEC that it is planning to unify the three corporations.

Meanwhile, former chief secretary of Delhi Vijay Kumar Dev was sworn in as the new state election commissioner on Thursday by lieutenant governor Anil Baijal in a function at Raj Niwas.