NEW DELHI: Elections for the posts of mayor and deputy mayor of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) continue to remain stalled despite the fact that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, whose approval was ‘indispensable’ to proceed with the elections, has been out on interim bail for 11 days now.
Sources within the civic body suggested that the file requesting the Lieutenant Governor (L-G) V K Saxena’s approval for appointing the presiding officer to conduct the mayoral poll is still lying in the municipal secretary’s office.
To proceed with the process, a fresh request must be sent to the Raj Niwas. This request will pass through the Delhi chief secretary and the Urban Development department before reaching the office of Chief Minister Kejriwal, who must approve the appointment of the presiding officer for the mayoral polls, said those privy with the civic body guidelines.
“So far, no new request from the existing mayor’s office has been received to seek the L-G’s approval for conducting the Delhi mayoral elections. A fresh file for the appointment of the presiding officer will have to be moved from the MCD to the L-G’s office,” the sources explained.
The MCD had postponed the mayoral elections in April due to the non-appointment of a presiding officer by the L-G.
V K Saxena had declined to appoint a presiding officer without input from the chief minister, who was in jail regarding an excise policy-linked money laundering case.
On May 9, the Supreme Court granted Kejriwal a conditional 21-day interim bail to campaign for the Lok Sabha elections. As per bail conditions, he must surrender to the jail authorities on June 2, one day after the seven-phase polling concludes.
Conditions for bail also stipulate that Kejriwal must seek the L-G’s sanction before he can sign any official or administrative document in urgent matters during his interim bail period. He is also prohibited from visiting his office or the Delhi Secretariat.
The mayoral elections were categorized as “urgent business” by the AAP-led MCD in the agenda for the House meeting where the polls were scheduled. However, Raj Niwas sources stated, “The L-G secretariat has not received any new request from the chief minister’s office regarding the MCD mayoral elections.”
Currently, Mayor Shelly Oberoi and Deputy Mayor Aaley Muhammad Iqbal continue to serve until the next mayor and deputy mayor are elected.
No new request for MCD mayoral polls: L-G office
Despite release of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, whose approval was ‘indispensable’ to proceed with the mayoral elections, has been out on interim bail for 11 days now, Raj Niwas sources stated, “The L-G secretariat has not received any new request from the chief minister’s office regarding the MCD mayoral elections.” The MCD had postponed the elections in April due to the non-appointment of a presiding officer by L-G V K Saxena who declined to appoint a presiding officer “without input from the chief minister,” then lodged in jail.