MCD standing committee polls: BJP wins unopposed as AAP, Congress boycott; Kejriwal slams outcome as 'hooliganism'

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won the last vacant seat of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi's 18-member standing committee on Friday. BJP won the seat unopposed as the ruling AAP and Congress boycotted the election. 

The BJP's candidate Sunder Singh got all 115 votes of the party's councillors while the AAP's Nirmala Kumari did not receive any votes.

The standing committee is the highest decision-making body of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. 

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With this poll result, the BJP now has 10 members in the panel while the ruling AAP has only eight. 

While hitting out at the BJP, former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said it is "hooliganism". 

"Is this election?" he said. "BJP wrongly overpowered MCD, stole mandate," he added.

"As per the rule, a notice has to be sent to every councillor 72 hours before the meeting, but it was not followed," Kejriwal was quoted by PTI. 

The seat had fallen vacant after BJP councillor Kamaljeet Sehrawat was elected as the Lok Sabha MP from West Delhi. 

Delhi mayor Shelly Oberoi had termed the election as "unconstitutional".

Kejriwal also added that as per rules, only the mayor can convene a meeting of the MCD House but the lieutenant governor changed it and directed an additional commissioner of the civic body to do it. 

Meanwhile, Sunder Singh thanked the top leadership and said AAP might not had any trust in their own councillors, so they ran away from the election.  

“They were given opportunities multiple times...everybody was given time of 1 pm today but they did not show up...the Presiding Officer conducted the election free and fair...I won,” Tanwar told ANI.