The BJP secured the final vacant seat on the Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s 18-member Standing Committee unopposed on Friday, as councillors from the ruling AAP and Congress boycotted the election. The vacant seat arose following the election of BJP councillor Kamaljeet Sehrawat as a Lok Sabha MP from West Delhi.
Reacting to the results, former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that the BJP wrongly overpowered MCD and “stole” the mandate.
BJP candidate Sunder Singh received all 115 votes from the party’s councillors, while AAP’s Nirmala Kumari did not receive any votes. The Standing Committee serves as the highest decision-making body within the Municipal Corporation.
With this election result, the BJP now holds 10 seats on the panel, and there are eight AAP members. This was the first time that the election was held without the participation of AAP and Congress councillors.
AAP terms election as ‘unconstitutional and illegal’
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) labelled the election as “unconstitutional and illegal,” asserting that the vote should only take place on October 5.
Following disruptions over the frisking of councillors on Thursday, MCD Mayor Shelly Oberoi had postponed the election until October 5. However, Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena later overturned this decision, directing MCD Commissioner Ashwani Kumar to proceed with the election on Friday.
At a press conference, senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia and Mayor Oberoi accused the BJP and the municipal commissioner of undermining democracy and the constitution. Sisodia alleged that the commissioner had ordered the election to be conducted with an additional commissioner serving as the presiding officer.
“The BJP is attempting to repeat what it did in the Chandigarh mayoral poll, where it was caught red-handed,” Sisodia said.
According to rules, only the mayor, deputy mayor, or a senior councillor can preside over meetings of the MCD House. Sisodia asserted that Oberoi had already announced the meeting and election for October 5, deeming the commissioner’s order “illegal.”
Oberoi reiterated her commitment to a free and fair election, stating that the commissioner’s order is “unconstitutional, null and void.” She maintained that the election would only take place on October 5.
(With PTI inputs)