Delhi Mayor Election to be Held Today After Several Postpones - Top Points

Delhi mayor election: The last three times that the House convened, a mayor could not be elected due to the political bickering between the AAP and BJP.

Pic Credit: File Photo

New Delhi: Almost two months after the Municipal Corporation of Delhi polls on December 4, the national capital is expected to get its new mayor on Wednesday (February 22) after three failed attempts by the municipal body. In the tussle between AAP and BJP which had stalled the election of the mayor for so long, the Supreme Court had to step in and order the issuance of a notice within 24 hours for convening the first meeting of the MCD to fix the date of elections for the mayor, the deputy mayor and the members of the standing committee of the civic body.

Here are the top points you need to know ahead of the Delhi Mayoral election:

1. The last three times that the House convened, a mayor could not be elected due to the political bickering between the AAP and BJP. The first time was on January 6, after which the House convened on January 24 and February 6 but failed to lead to any outcome.

2. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha and Justice J B Pardiwala, during a hearing on Friday, directed that the election of the Delhi mayor shall be conducted at the first MCD meet, and once elected, the mayor shall preside over the deputy mayor's election.

3. As per the direction from the L-G, the House that will convene on Wednesday will be the reconvening of the adjourned first House that was held on January 6. "In exercise of powers conferred upon him under section 73 of the DMC Act, 1957, the Administrator, Hon'ble Lt Governor of NCT of Delhi, has refixed the adjourned first meeting of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi on Wednesday, the 22nd of February, 2023," reads a notice issued by the civic body on February 18. The election of mayor, deputy mayor, and six members of the standing committee will take place in the meeting and the agenda will remain the same, it says.

4. The AAP had emerged as a clear winner in the December 4 polls, bagging 134 wards and ending the BJP's 15-year rule in the civic body. The BJP won 104 wards to finish second, while the Congress won nine seats in the 250-member Municipal House.

5. The electoral college for the election of mayor comprises the 250 elected councillors, seven Lok Sabha and three Rajya Sabha MPs from Delhi and 14 MLAs.

6. The Delhi Assembly Speaker has nominated 13 AAP and one BJP member to the House. The total number of votes in the mayoral polls is 274. The numbers game favours the AAP, which has 150 votes against the BJP's 113.

(With PTI inputs)