NEW DELHI: The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) mayoral polls, which have been pending for almost six months, will be held during the House meeting next month, Mayor Shelly Oberoi announced on Monday as she adjourned the current session.
Soon after Oberoi arrived in the House during the day, opposition party councillors raised slogans over issues such as pollution and the delay in the mayoral polls, leading to a ruckus.
The councillors demanded to hold the mayoral election, which is reserved for a Dalit candidate in the third term and has been pending since April.
Amid the commotion, Oberoi said, “Be assured the elections will be held in the next meeting. Right now, let us focus on the agenda to be discussed.” However, as opposition councillors continued to raise objections, Oberoi passed several proposals and adjourned the House until the next meeting.
The House commenced 45 minutes later than its scheduled time of 11 am due to the mayor’s late arrival, which drew protests from several councillors.
On October 16, AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal had, in a letter to Oberoi, expressed concerns over the delay in conducting the election. “After coming out of jail, I came to know that as part of a conspiracy, the BJP did not even conduct the mayoral elections in my absence.
They deliberately snatched the rights of the people of the SC community. This cannot be tolerated under any circumstances. I request you to immediately hold the mayor elections and give the SC community its rights,” Kejriwal wrote. The mayoral polls were postponed on April 26 after Lieutenant-Governor V.K. Saxena refused to appoint a Presiding Officer for it in the “absence of inputs” from Kejriwal, then Chief Minister.
The elections are held every year with the Mayor’s post being rotated among members belonging to different social groups. This year, the Mayor’s post was reserved for an SC councillor.
Chief Minister Atishi has alleged that the election was cancelled at the BJP’s behest.
(With PTI inputs)