Delhi: 2 weeks after violence, MCD to meet again for Mayor election; aldermen oath still flashpoint?

Weeks after chaos and even violence in the first session of the newly-elected MCD, the civic body is set to convene again on 24 January 2023 to try to elect Delhi's new Mayor and Deputy Mayor again.

On 6 January, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) councillors clashed over the swearing-in of aldermen nominated to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi by the Lieutenant Governor. AAP councillors had objected to the aldermen, who don't have voting rights, being administered the oath before elected members.

AAP won the MCD elections in December 2022 but BJP is hoping to stage an upset by fielding its own candidates for the post of Mayor and Deputy Mayor.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had emerged as a clear winner in the polls, bagging 134 wards and ending the BJP's 15-year rule in the civic body. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 104 wards to finish second, while the Congress won nine seats in the 250-member municipal house.

Shelly Oberoi and Ashu Thakur are AAP's contenders for the post of mayor. The BJP has nominated Rekha Gupta as its contender for the post. The nominees for the post of deputy mayor are - Aaley Mohammad Iqbal and Jalaj Kumar (AAP), and Kamal Bagri (BJP).

(With PTI inputs)

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