NEW DELHI: MCD Mayor Shelly Oberoi and Deputy Mayor Aaley Mohammad Iqbal on Monday filed their nominations for the April 26 mayoral elections for a possible second consecutive term. Oberoi and Iqbal were accompanied by senior leaders of AAP including Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, and Education Minister Atishi among others.
Speaking to the media after filing the nomination papers, Oberoi reiterated that she will work in close coordination with the Delhi government. “The people have a lot of expectations from us. We will work closely with the government to fulfil them,” she added.
Meanwhile, Singh said that the BJP cannot digest the mandate of the people. “The BJP practises the politics of horse-trading. But the people have reposed faith in CM Arvind Kejriwal and his model of governance by voting the BJP out of power after 15 years."
Singh also accused the BJP of attempting to disrupt the mayoral polls earlier. Despite that, the AAP emerged victorious, he added. Appreciating the tenure of the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor, Atishi said, "They visit garbage mountains, different wards, schools, and hospitals. This has brought agility to the system,” she added. The government has set April 26 as the date of the poll. However, an official announcement for the clearance is yet to come from the L-G House.
Oberoi and Iqbal had a truncated term which ran for 40 days due to delay in elections and multiple disruptions to form the civic body’s House. According to the Delhi Municipal Act, the term of a Mayor gets over on March 31 and a new House is formed after fresh polls. In the five years of power, the first year is reserved for a woman mayoral candidate, the third term is reserved for a member of the SC/ST community. During the remaining three years, any member can be nominated by a party.
Facts on your fingertips
Why the polls are being held
According to the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, every time the session of the corporation starts from April 1, the mayor, deputy mayor and a 6-member standing committee are elected. Election of the members of the standing committee is held every year along with the mayor, but there will be no election of the members of the Standing Committee. The election process of six members has been completed, but the Delhi High Court has put a stay on the election result. The hearing on this is pending till April 24.
The voters in mayoral polls
In addition to all the councillors in MCD, 14 MLAs are also nominated to the MCD House every year who change on an annual basis. At present, out of 14 nominated MLAs, 12 or 13 will be from Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) while one or two MLAs will be from the BJP. Apart from this, seven Lok Sabha MPs and three Rajya Sabha MPs from Delhi are also nominated members. All of them have the right to vote in the elections held for the post of mayor
Row over nominated councillors
Till 2015, the nominated councillors, known as aldermen, did not have the right to vote or get elected to any post. They got the right to do so following the Delhi HC verdict pronounced on April 27, 2015. This decision was reversed by the Supreme Court in February this year.