The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday fielded incumbent Mayor Shelly Oberoi and Deputy Mayor Aaley Mohammad Iqbal as its candidates for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) mayoral polls to be held on April 26.
At the end of each financial year, the MCD House holds fresh elections for Mayor and Deputy Mayor. The Mayor’s office is reserved for a woman candidate in the first year and for a scheduled caste candidate in the third year.
Ms. Oberoi and Mr. Iqbal, first elected on February 22, will hold their office till the polls are held.
Senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh, who was present alongside the candidates as they filed their nominations, said they will win by a huge majority.
“The BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] practises the politics of horse trading. But the people of Delhi reposed their faith in Arvind Kejriwal and his model of governance by voting the BJP out [of the MCD] after 15 years,” Mr. Singh added.
In February this year, Ms. Oberoi was elected Mayor of the reunified MCD, defeating the BJP’s candidate, Rekha Gupta, by a margin of over 30 votes. Originally scheduled for January 6, the internal polls were completed on the fourth attempt after being disrupted thrice due to clashes between AAP and BJP councillors.
Prior to the merger of the three erstwhile municipal corporations last year, the Capital had one Mayor and Deputy Mayor for each of these civic bodies.
