MCD mayor polls on April 26, nominations open till April 18

The polls are coming at a time when the municipal corporation is in a limbo with the civic body yet to elect the powerful Standing Committee and zonal ward committees

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) will elect a new mayor and a deputy mayor on April 26, according a notification issued by the civic body.

Mayor Shelly Oberoi during a special meeting of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) Budget, at the Civic Centre in New Delhi, on March 29. (PTI Photo)

A senior official said that the candidates can file nomination papers with the municipal secretary during the next seven days. “The nominations can be filed till April 18. The nominees will can withdraw their candidature till the beginning of the House meeting on April 26,” the official explained.

The polls are coming at a time when the municipal corporation is in a limbo with the civic body yet to elect the powerful Standing Committee and zonal ward committees in the aftermath of a bitter feud holding up the mayoral polls. Also, courts are seized of two important matters that will have a bearing on the structure of the corporation. While the Delhi high court is hearing a petition challenging the February 24 Standing Committee elections, the Supreme Court will hear on Monday a petition by the Aam Aadmi Party challenging the nomination of 10 aldermen by the LG.

According to the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, a new mayor is elected every year at the start of the financial year on April 1. However, the incumbents continue to remain in their post till fresh elections are held.

The second round of the mayoral election in the MCD has started on Wednesday with the municipal secretariat formally issuing the notification for holding the elections for the post of mayor and deputy mayor on April 26, later this month. In an order issued by the municipal secretary Siva Prasad on Wednesday, the civic body has stated that an April meeting of the municipal corporation will be held on Wednesday, April 26 at Civic Center for the election of Mayor and Deputy Mayor. “This issues under the order of the mayor,” the notice states.

Earlier, in an election on February 22 that was marked by bitter exchanges and violences among members of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), AAP’s Shelly Oberoi was elected the MCD mayor and the party’s Aaley Iqbal was chosen the deputy mayor.

Unlike the first election, this time the post of mayor will not be reserved for a woman candidate. But, according to the law, parties are free to repeat their candidate.

Obeoi got a 38-day tenure, which ended on March 31. Oberoi had a truncated tenure due to change in municipal calendar arising from unification of three erstwhile corporations, delimitation and postponement of civic elections to December last year.

While the AAP remained tight-lipped about the new candidates, senior AAP municipal functionaries say that the sitting mayor is likely to be repeated. A senior MCD official said that once the nominations are finalised, the file regarding the elections will be sent to the LG office for appointing a presiding officer for conducting the proceedings. “Normally, the outgoing mayors preside over the elections to their successors, but if Oberoi is a candidate in the next election, she cannot be the presiding officer as per the DMC act mandate,” the municipal official said.

Delhi BJP general secretary Harsh Malhotra said that the party will take a final call on “participation in the mayoral elections” in the next few days. “However, the BJP will continue to focus on the early constitution of the standing committee,” he added.

An AAP spokesperson did not comment on the development.