New Delhi, Nov 4 (PTI) The Municipal Corporation of Delhi will hold mayoral polls reserved for a Dalit candidate in the third term of the ruling AAP on November 14, according to an official of the civic body.
The tenure for the candidate, however, will be truncated to just five months due to a seven-month delay caused by a political deadlock between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The delay led to repeated protests and disruptions in the MCD House by opposition councillors.
The MCD on Monday announced in a notice that the adjourned meeting for the mayoral elections would be held on November 14 at 2 pm at its headquarters.
Other adjourned meetings from May, June, July, August, and September will also be held on the same day.
The notice from the Municipal Secretary’s office mentioned that the meeting is being held “by the order of the mayor.” In a statement the AAP said, the election was greenlit “as instructed by Arvind Kejriwal.” “The Aam aadmi party has left no stone unturned to take every possible step for the welfare of Dalit community whereas it was BJP who has made Dalit community deprived of it rights. AAP has made every possibility to empower this community in all aspects,” it said.
The mayoral polls have been pending since April. According to MCD rules, elections for the mayor are held annually in April, with a five-year tenure comprising five single-year terms on a rotation basis.
The first year is reserved for women, the second for the open category, the third for the reserved category, and the final two years again for the open category.
The AAP had announced Devnagar ward councillor Mahesh Khichi as its candidate for the mayoral position and Aman Vihar councillor Ravinder Bhardwaj as the candidate for deputy mayor.
The BJP named Shakurpur councillor Kishan Lal as its mayoral candidate, with Sadatpur councillor Nita Bisht as its choice for deputy mayor.
The delay in elections stemmed from the lack of a presiding officer’s appointment by the Lieutenant Governor, who said the procedure required consultation with the Chief Minister.
The process hit a roadblock as then-Delhi CM Kejriwal was in judicial custody, which prevented the necessary sign-off.
This will be the third mayoral term since the AAP came to power in the MCD in December 2022, ending the BJP’s 15-year rule by securing 134 out of 250 wards, while the BJP won 104. PTI SJJ SJJ VN VN
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