Mayoral polls: MCD sends proposal to LG with tentative dates

New Delhi: The MCD elections are over but the municipal corporations are yet to elect their mayors, with a senior civic official saying a proposal has been sent to the Lt Governor about tentative dates for the mayoral polls.

The North, the South and the East Delhi Municipal Corporations choose their own mayors in the first meeting of the new House. But, the newly elected councillors are yet to be administered the oath of office.

"The mayoral polls are supposed to be completed by April. But, this time, the MCD polls took place on April 23. So, the situation is a bit different. By rule, a mayor is supposed to be elected in the first meeting of the new House," the official told PTI.

"But, for convening the first meeting after a municipal poll, the L-G has to give its approval, who then would appoint a presiding officer and a senior officer. While the senior officer administers the oath to councillors, the presiding officer oversees the mayoral election," he said.

The L-G may, at his discretion, appoint one officer for both the posts, the official said.

"A proposal has been sent to the L-G with tentative dates for the mayoral polls for the three municipal corporations. For the NDMC, the proposed date is May 18, for the SDMC it is May 19 and for the EDMC it is May 22. Now we are awaiting the L-G's response," the official said.

In the EDMC, the expiry of the mayoral term has already created issues, with outgoing East Delhi Mayor Satya Sharma alleging that she is no more allowed to access her office and official vehicle.

The mayors of North Delhi and South Delhi civic bodies, however, "continue to enjoy" the amenities entitled to them, a source said.

All three outgoing mayors belong to the BJP, the party which has ruled the MCD for the last 10 years.

The saffron party, which had fielded fresh faces in the recently concluded civic polls, retained control of the three corporations by winning 181 of the 270 wards where elections were held. Elections to the remaining two wards have been postponed to May 14 and May 21 respectively.

In the NDMC, Sanjiv Nayyar was unanimously elected the mayor on April 28 last year, while on April 27 last year Shyam Sharma and Satya Sharma were elected as mayor of the SDMC and the EDMC respectively.

The erstwhile unified Municipal Corporation of Delhi was trifurcated in 2012 into the NDMC, the SDMC and the EDMC. The first MCD polls after the trifurcation was held the same year.

The post of mayor sees five single-year terms on a rotation basis, with the first year being reserved for women, the second for open category, third for reserved category, and the remaining two also being in the open category.'