MCD House to reconvene at 10am for poll process for standing committee members

Mayor Shelly Oberoi adjourned the House after a deadlock in the House continued on Thursday despite a 23-hour proceeding

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) House meeting will be reconvened at 10am on Friday to continue the election process for the six standing committee members of the civic body.

BJP members protesting against the delay in the election of members to the standing committee. (ANI)

Mayor Shelly Oberoi adjourned the House after a deadlock in the House continued on Thursday despite a 23-hour proceeding.

Municipal secretary Bhagwan Singh said the “sanctimony of the election process has been badly bruised” and the “election process should now begin afresh.”

It was unclear whether the mayor will accept the recommendation and re-start the voting process from scratch.

Fifty-five ballot papers were distributed to the councilors in the 250-member House before the pandemonium began on Wednesday. The uproar continued until Thursday and prompted Singh to recommend to Oberoi that the election should start afresh.

Singh said 55 ballot papers were issued but the municipal secretariat was unaware of the number of councilors who had voted amid the melee. The ballot box was to be removed and members who could not vote till then pocketed their ballot papers, he added.

The provision for the secret ballot and whether mobile phones can be permitted inside the polling booth triggered a fresh tussle between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The BJP maintained that around 45-50 votes polled in the standing committee election should be declared void as mobile phones were used for clicking their pictures. This triggered the standoff and 15 adjournments.

The BJP has sought the poll process afresh. Oberoi said no rules prohibited the use of the mobile phone inside the House.

BJP members Amit Nagpal and Rekha Gupta were expected to be penalized on Friday for their alleged unruly conduct. Nagpal tore apart ballot papers while Gupta was seen breaking the podium and mikes.

Oberoi named the two on Thursday and said she will announce penalties when the House reconvenes. The mayor has the power to issue warnings or suspend the members for disorder in the House.