The term of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has concluded with the end of the year on March 31, fuelling the need to call for the next House meeting to hold fresh polls.
However, the first House meeting in its new year is unlikely to see the fresh election of six members to the MCD’s Standing Committee. This is mainly because the hearing in connection to the previously held polls for the six posts remains pending before the Delhi High Court.
On February 24, Mayor Shelly Oberoi had adjourned the House meeting without declaring the results for the standing committee member elections — and called for fresh elections — stating that one vote was invalid. This led to violent clashes between the councillors of AAP and the BJP in the early half of the session.
On February 25, the High Court stayed the re-election while hearing two pleas filed by BJP councillors Kamaljeet Sehrawat and Shikha Rai.
The latter contended that the re-election order was wrong because the election process was completed successfully, and both the BJP and AAP had won three seats each.
Anil Gupta, former law officer at the erstwhile North Delhi Municipal Corporation, explained that holding fresh polls for the standing committee members will depend on the court’s decision.
“If the court decides that the results of the elections were valid, and directs that there should be no fresh polls for the same, then the constitution of the standing committee will be based on those results. If not, then there will be fresh polls,” said Mr. Gupta.
He highlighted that while a new Mayor and Deputy Mayor are to be elected at the beginning of each year, the timeline differs for the standing committee as its term commences only from the day “the chairperson is elected”.
According to the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, the civic body’s year commences from April 1.
In the coming days, the office of the MCD’s municipal secretary will write to the Mayor seeking a date for the next House meeting, which will see the Mayor and Deputy Mayor’s elections.
“Based on this communication, the file will be sent to the Lieutenant-Governor’s office, via the Delhi government, for appointing the presiding officer for the exercise,” said an MCD official.
To be sure, the incumbent Mayor and Deputy Mayor will continue to hold office till fresh polls are held. Simultaneously, the presiding officer for the exercise has to be a councillor who is not a candidate for the internal election.
Committee composition
The MCD’s standing committee consists of 18 members, of which six are elected in the first House meeting.
The remaining members are elected from each of the 12 zones under the MCD.
While each zone is a cluster of wards, financial and policy matters of the civic body are approved by the standing committee before they are discussed in the House.
After the members are elected to the standing committee, the elections are held for the post of the committee’s chairperson and deputy chairperson.
However, another senior MCD official differed with Mr. Gupta’s observation and said the elections for standing committee members are likely to be held afresh.
“I believe that the petition before the High Court has become infructuous and elections are to be held every year for the standing committee members as well,” said the senior MCD official.
