MCD poll schedule announcement deferred following Centre's ‘communication’

The State Election Commission on Wednesday said it has deferred the announcement of Delhi civic poll election dates after it received a communication from the government.

The State Election Commission on Wednesday said it has deferred the announcement of Delhi civic poll election dates after it received a communication from the government. The state election commissioner said he got a communication from the Centre after which it has been decided to postpone the announcement for the next 7 days.

State election commissioner SK Srivastava said the MCD elections are not getting deferred. 

After the announcement was deferred, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said BJP has conceded defeat.

"In our survey, out of 272 seats, 250 seats were coming up. Now more than 260 will come. But the Election Commission should not have come under the pressure of BJP," Kejriwal tweeted.

The State Election Commission has already released guidelines for the model code of conduct which will come into effect as soon as the dates are declared.

Over 10.4 million voters are eligible to vote in the polls. In 2017, the last day of nomination was April 3. The elections were held on April 23 and the results were announced on April 26.

SEC officials, who held a review meeting for the polls on Tuesday, said most preparations such as revision of electoral rolls and identification of polling stations were over. The polls are likely to be held before April 23.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and Congress have been preparing for the elections for months. The BJP has dominated the municipal polls for 15 years. The AAP, which formed the government in Delhi for a second consecutive time in 2020, seeks to dislodge the BJP. Parties such as Bahujan Samaj Party, Bihar’s ruling Janta Dal (United) also field candidates in Delhi’s municipal polls.