MCD to elect SC mayor today after much delay

The LG has appointed BJP councillor from Gautampuri, Satya Sharma as the presiding officer to oversee the election process

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) is likely to elect its new mayor on Thursday as lieutenant governor VK Saxena on Wednesday appointed the presiding officer, putting into motion a process that has been delayed for six months due to a multitude of reasons.

According to an order issued by municipal secretary Siva Prasad, the election will be held at 2pm on Thursday. (HT ARCHIVE)

The LG has appointed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) councillor from Gautampuri, Satya Sharma as the presiding officer to oversee the election process that was supposed to be held in April this year.

Sharma was also the presiding officer in February last year when incumbent mayor, Shelly Oberoi of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was elected for the first time in a chaotic process. Oberoi was later re-elected in April that year.

Reacting on Sharma’s appointment, the AAP opined that the LG should have instead appointed the incumbent mayor or the senior-most councillor to ensure fairness in the election. It, however, hoped that the election process is smooth on Thursday.

According to an order issued by municipal secretary Siva Prasad, the election will be held at 2pm on Thursday.

“In exercise of the powers conferred upon him under section 77(a) of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957 the administrator ie. LG is pleased to nominate Satya Sharma...to preside over the meeting to be held for the election of mayor on Thursday at 2pm,” the order reads.

On Thursday afternoon, the house will assemble to elect a Scheduled Caste candidate as its mayor, as mandated by rules. According to provisions of the Delhi Municipal Corporation (DMC) Act, the mayor’s post in the third election cycle of a house has been reserved for a Scheduled Caste candidate.

In the fray are the AAP’s Mahesh Kumar Khichi, 45, who is the councillor from Dev Nagar ward in Karol Bagh region, and 47-year-old Kishan Lal of the BJP from Shakurpur ward. The AAP’s councillor from Aman Vihar (Kirari) Ravinder Bhardwaj, 35, and the BJP’s Neeta Bisht, 41, from Sadatpur ward will be vying for the deputy mayor’s post.

These candidates had filed their nominations long back on April 18 but the elections were stuck, and an MCD official from the secretariat said that the candidates will remain the same.

The major reason for the delay was the incarceration of then chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, whose assent was required to carry forward the election exercise.“...LG Saxena had refused to appoint the presiding officer for the mayoral election without the recommendation of the CM on the relevant file,” according to a senior MCD official who asked not to be named. Though he walked out of jail in September and later stepped down from his post, the polls were then delayed till at least November as the AAP cited the “festive season”.

In January 2023 too, the mayoral election process was delayedby over a month — it was marred by disputes, ruckus, violence and legal issues. It only ended on February 22 with the election of Oberoi as the mayor.

In an attempt to prevent a repeat of last year, MCD has issued a set of guidelines for councillors — their supporters will not be allowed in the Civic Centre, no mobile phones or electronic equipment will be allowed in the polling booth, councillors will be allowed entry only with ID cards, and a designated room has been earmarked for depositing mobile phones.

During the election of a standing committee member in September this year, the frisking of members and a ban on mobile phones had led to a protest by the AAP, resulting in the election being postponed.

Over the last year, the composition of parties has changed as MCD has seen several defections between the AAP and the BJP. According to officials, the BJP currently has 122 members, the AAP has 142 members and Congress has eight members, and one independent candidate. The electoral college comprises of 250 councillors (one seat vacant) , seven Delhi Lok Sabha MPs, three Rajya Sabha MPs and 14 MLAs nominated to the corporation by the assembly speaker.

For the new mayor, the major work has already been outlined -- to facilitate the formation of key panels and ensure that house proceedings carry out smoothly in order to execute policy work. Over the last two years, during the tenure of Oberoi, the proceedings have been marred by ruckus, protests and disruptions with very little discussions or policy work taking place. Besides, with the non-formation of key panels such as the standing committee, the policy work in MCD also came to standstill. The period also saw a growing tussle between the bureaucracy and the deliberative wing led by the AAP.

The AAP said it hoped that the “BJP will not indulge in any foul play” and “avoid any unethical action or murder democracy”. “The election should proceed smoothly and fairly in the interest of democracy,” it said.

Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor has said that the AAP has a “habit of casting aspersions on statutory appointments”. “From past experience, it appears that the AAP leadership doesn’t want to elect a scheduled caste mayor and they will create some or other nuisance to postpone the election tomorrow also,” he said.

Farhad Suri, former mayor and Congress MCD in-charge said that the party was yet to decide if it will take part in the election. “A meeting will be held on Wednesday morning to take a call on the party’s strategy,” he said.