Amid high security, the Muncipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) reconvened on Tuesday to elect the much-awaited mayor. The process of administering oath to the elected members and nominated councillors started at the House.
Presiding officer Satya Sharma of the BJP administered oath to the aldermen.
Shweta Daman Khatri of AAP was the first among the elected members to take oath.
As per the schedule shared by the MCD, the House proceedings began at 11 am.
The initial attempt to elect the mayor during the first session of the council had ended in a ruckus over the presiding officer's decision to invite nominated councillors to swear in first. The house had to be adjourned even before the voting began after councillors from AAP and BJP clashed.
This time too, the AAP has made it clear that it would allow the house to function smoothly only if proceedings happen as per the agenda. Though the agenda says that the elected councillors will take oath first, it is the presiding officer who decides who to invite first. Despite the fierce opposition by the AAP, presiding officer Satya Sharma on Monday said the Lt Governor-appointed aldermen will take oath first.
The agenda for the January 24 meeting mentioned that councillors and members nominated as per the DMC Act, 1957 (amended in 2022) will take the oath. However, it does not specify the sequence of oath-taking.
Meanwhile, Congress has stated that all its nine councillors will abstain from voting. “If any councillor is found participating in the election process, that would be termed as indiscipline,” said Anil Bhardwaj, chairman of the Congress communication department, as quoted by The Times Of India.
In the civic polls held on December 4, the counting of votes took place on December 7. The AAP had bagged 134 wards and ended the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) 15-year rule in the civic body. The BJP won 104 wards to finish second while the Congress won nine seats.
Shelly Oberoi and Ashu Thakur are the AAP's contenders for the post of mayor. The BJP has nominated Rekha Gupta. The nominees for the post of deputy mayor are Aaley Mohammad Iqbal and Jalaj Kumar (AAP) and Kamal Bagri (BJP).
Besides the mayor and the deputy mayor, six members of the MCD's standing committee are also slated to be elected during the municipal House.
The post of mayor in the national capital sees five single-year terms on a rotation basis, with the first year being reserved for women, the second for the open category, the third for the reserved category, and the remaining two again for the open category.
The voters for the election of the mayor are 250 councillors, seven Lok Sabha and three Rajya Sabha MPs from Delhi and 14 MLAs nominated by the Legislative Assembly.
The Delhi Assembly Speaker has nominated one BJP MLA and 13 AAP MLAs to the MCD.
(With inputs from PTI)
