NEW DELHI: The third attempt to elect the city’s mayor failed on Monday after the House of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi was adjourned amid the ruckus that erupted after Presiding Officer Satya Sharma announced that the aldermen would also be given voting powers to participate in the mayoral polls.
"Elections cannot be held in such an atmosphere. The house is adjourned until the next date," announced Sharma as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members came into the well shouting slogans against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
"Mayor elections hone do (Let the Mayor elections be held)," the saffron party members shouted and sat before the speaker's chair.
The House proceedings started 45 minutes later than the slated time, with AAP members arriving quite early, while the BJP members came to take part in the meeting around 25 minutes later than the scheduled time. Within a few minutes, Sharma arrived and announced the agenda of the house, which included elections for the mayor, the deputy mayor, and the chairman of the standing committee. However, the ruckus erupted when, to everyone’s shock, she announced that all 10 aldermen will vote in the elections, which invited a strong objection from the AAP.
Leader of the House Mukesh Goel called the move illegal, citing provisions of the Delhi Municipal Act, 1957. What followed was sloganeering and shouting from both the ruling and opposition parties. However, the pro-tem speaker cited a High Court order to back her decision. The House proceedings were adjourned briefly for 10 minutes while sloganeering from both ends continued.
Later, when the proceedings resumed, the BJP members came into the well and sat there. Tensions spiked further when AAP MLAs Akhilesh Tripathi and Sanjeev Jha were asked to leave the House after the BJP’s mayoral candidate Rekha Gupta said both legislators have been convicted in different cases and should not be allowed to vote in the election. Sharma agreed to this and announced that "those who can’t vote must leave the House proceedings" without taking the names of the MLAs.
The majority of AAP members sat peacefully during the House proceedings as they were instructed by the party leadership to allow the Mayoral election to be conducted without any conflict, party members said. However, Sharma went ahead and adjourned the House sine die.
"Voting powers to aldermen illegal"
Section 3(b)(i) of Chapter II of the Delhi Municipal Act, 1957, states that "ten persons, who are not less than 25 years of age and who have special knowledge or experience in municipal administration, shall be nominated by the Administrator: provided, however, that the persons nominated under this sub-clause shall not have the right to vote in the meetings of the Corporation…"
The same section was cited by MCD’s former Chief Law Officer, Anil Gupta. "What protem speaker did is blatantly illegal. The High Court decision in the case of Onika Mehrotra vs. Govt. of NCT of Delhi in 2015, as well as the relevant sections of the DMC Act, state unequivocally that aldermen are not given the authority to vote on the mayor and deputy mayor, or on any resolution presented in the House. They can participate in standing committee elections and play the role of counsel and advisor in the House," he told The New Indian Express.
However, the BJP maintained that permitting aldermen to vote was within constitutional rights. Ex-Mayor Jai Prakash said that section of DMC act "doesn’t specify which meetings they are not allowed to vote."
When asked whether it has occurred in the past, he said mayors were elected without contest for the last years during his party’s regime. "We were elected unanimously so such a situation did not arise in the past," said Prakash who has served as a Mayor for erstwhile North MCD.
Protem speaker Satya Sharma defended her decision to allow aldermen to vote in the Mayor election citing a Delhi HC order.
"Onika Mehrotra vs. Govt. of NCT of Delhi case ruling by Delhi HC has allowed the nominated members (aldermen) to vote in the first meeting of the House and that is what I followed," she told The New Indian Express. When pointed out that the order states the aldermen to vote in the ward committees and did not specify the mayoral polls, she refused to comment.
Partywise strength in House
Party Councilors MLA's. MPs Aldermen Total
AAP 134. 13. 03. 00 150
BJP 104+1 IND 01. 07. 10 123
Cong 009. 00. 00. 00 009
Ind. 002. 00. 00 00 002
*All elected councilors, nominated members 14 MLAs and 10 MPs (7 from Lok Sabha+3 from Rajya Sabha) were supposed to elect a Mayor taking to 284 votes. The magic figure to claim majority would have been 143.
TIMELINE
2022
· March 9: Polls for all three erstwhile corporations deferred minutes before announcement by state election commission
· May 22; All three civic bodies merged into one MCD after reunification
· October 17: Centre notifies delimitation of 272 wards into 250
· December 4; Polls conducted for 250 seats of the reunified MCD
December 7: AAP won majority seats in the election bagging 134 seats
2023
· January 6: First meeting called to elect a mayor of unified House adjourned amid ruckus
· January 24: Second meeting called where all elected and 10 nominated councilors sworn in but the House adjourned again amid ruckus
· January 26: AAP filed a petition in the Supreme Court to hold the mayoral election.
· On January 30: MCD sent the proposal to the Delhi Govt to hold Mayoral polls on Feb 10. Delhi Govt proposed for February 3, 4 and 6 instead and
· February 1; L-G fixed February 6 as the date for the mayor's election –
· February 3; AAP withdrew the petition from the SC