Third attempt to elect MCD Mayor today
06 Feb 2023 11:12:42
New Delhi, Feb 06: The Municipal House in Delhi is set to convene on February 6 to elect a mayor for the city after failing to carry out the exercise in two previous attempts.
This will be the third session after the high-stakes municipal polls held on December 4.
The first two sessions -- held on January 6 and January 24 -- were adjourned by the presiding officer without electing a mayor as the sessions were marred by ruckus and acrimonious exchanges among the members of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Aam Aadmi Party. According to the Delhi Municipal Corporation (DMC) Act, 1957, the mayor and the deputy mayor are to be elected in the very first House that convenes after the civic polls. However, it has been two months since the municipal elections were held, and Delhi is still to get a mayor. While the first session of the 250-member House after the civic polls went fully in vain, in the second session, the nominated members followed by elected members took an oath, many of whom had chanted slogans like ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ and ‘Jai Shri Ram’ after taking the oath. The second municipal House, briefly adjourned after the oath-taking ceremony, was later adjourned till the next date by the presiding officer and BJP councilor Satya Sharma. While BJP members had walked out of the chamber shouting slogans against the AAP and its national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, the AAP members refused to budge from their seats and held a peaceful protest in the House for nearly five hours. Before dispersing from the Civic Centre, senior leaders of the AAP, including Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, had told reporters after emerging from the House that by “not allowing” the mayoral election to take place, the BJP was “strangulating democracy” and “starting a dangerous tradition”.
AAP leader and party MLA Atishi had appealed to Lt. Governor V. K. Saxena to ensure the election for mayor, deputy mayor, and six members of the standing committee are held at the earliest. The third session of the House after the high-stakes municipal polls is slated to be held on Monday.