NEW DELHI: Hinting at a future tussle over the Standing Committee, Shelly Oberoi in a fresh letter to the MCD commissioner said the results of the elections will be considered “null and void” stating that appointments made by the L-G were not legally valid and it “encroached upon powers of the mayor”.
Meanwhile, celebrations erupted at the MCD headquarters in Central Delhi as results started ticking in and councillors of the winning party were seen garlanding their victorious candidates and raising slogans in their support.
Till Tuesday evening, there was a cloud of uncertainty over the ward committee polls as Mayor Shelly Oberoi had refused to appoint the presiding officers to conduct the elections saying her conscience does not allow her to participate in an “undemocratic election”.
In her letter to the MCD commissioner on Wednesday, the Mayor said, “I, therefore, direct that the order issued by Commissioner dated 03.09.2024 and the notice dated 03.09.2024 issued by Municipal Secretary are null and void and any election conducted pursuant to such Order and Notice will therefore, for reasons stated above, also be null and void. All Deputy Commissioners are hereby directed that they are not Presiding Officers and are not to preside over any elections.”
In a last-minute intervention, L-G V K Saxena late Tuesday night asked MCD commissioner to notify deputy commissioners of all zones as presiding officers, paving way for the ward committee elections to take place.
Saxena exercised the special power granted to him after a central gazette notification was made public on Tuesday which granted absolute powers to him to constitute any authority, board and commission.
Police had beefed up security arrangements in and around the Civic Centre located in Central Delhi ahead of the polls. A company of paramilitary personnel along with local police was deployed at the spot. After its unification, the MCD elections for 250 wards were held for the first time in 2022.