Oath-taking by the 10 nominated aldermen and the question of their voting had stalled elections twice.
New Delhi:
A third attempt to elect a new Delhi Mayor failed today as the newly elected municipal corporation erupted over a change in rules that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) alleges will favour the BJP, which has lost control of the civic body after 15 years.
Here are the top points in this big story:
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The corporation meeting was called off until further notice amid huge protests after 10 councillors nominated by Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena were allowed to vote, in defiance of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act that says nominated members, or aldermen, cannot vote.
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Though AAP has a majority in the corporation after its big win in December civic polls, a secret ballot and cross-voting can change the outcome of polls for Mayor and Deputy Mayor.
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AAP has strongly opposed voting rights for the aldermen nominated by the Lieutenant Governor, who represents the Centre in Delhi. Arvind Kejriwal’s party alleges that these members are inclined to support the BJP.
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134 AAP councillors and an Independent member had written to the civic body’s presiding officer Satya Sharma, saying rules bar nominated councillors from voting. The alderman “should be kept out of the election of mayor, deputy mayor and standing committee,” they wrote.
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AAP won 134 of 250 wards in the first municipal election held after the merging of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and redrawing of constituencies last year. The BJP finished second with 104 seats.
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The BJP’s seven Lok Sabha MPs from Delhi, AAP’s three Rajya Sabha members and 14 MLAs nominated by the Delhi Speaker are also allowed to vote. The Congress has said it will abstain, sparking allegations of “deal-making with the BJP” from AAP councillors.
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AAP had earlier objected to the Lieutenant Governor naming the 10 aldermen without consulting the state government. It had also opposed the appointment of Satya Sharma by the Lieutenant Governor as presiding officer, recommending Mukesh Goyal, the seniormost councilor in the house, for the post.
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Oath-taking by the nominated aldermen had stalled two previous meetings to elect a Mayor. In the first election on January 6, AAP and BJP members physically clashed, pushing and punching each other, throwing tables and chairs and jumping on desks.
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The row reached the Supreme Court, where AAP sought time-bound election of the Mayor and orders that the aldermen not be allowed to vote.
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AAP’s Mayor candidate Dr Shelley Oberoi — up against the BJP’s Rekha Gupta –withdrew the petition after the court pointed out that the election was due on February 6 and a detailed hearing will stall it again.
