After months of hectic election campaigns in Delhi and Gujarat, AAP leaders plan to go slow on the next big decision they will make — picking the MCD mayor. AAP won 134 seats out of 250, recording its maiden win in the Delhi civic polls.
As per rules, a mayor is to be elected in the MCD House once it is notified. If an opposition party does not put up a candidate, the winning party’s pick will be selected. In the first year, the post is reserved for a woman.
The date of the first sitting of the new house will have to be decided by the L-G, as he is the Centre’s representative in Delhi. It is in the first sitting that councillors will be sworn in. Once the date for the first meeting is set, names of mayor and deputy mayor candidates will be submitted. The election will take place in the first sitting. Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs, alongside 13 MLAs also cast their vote for the mayoral elections. The last mayor of a unified MCD was BJP’s Rajni Abbi and her tenure was between 2011 and 2012.
To provide a good walking experience for pedestrians, the Public Works Development (PWD) is planning to develop butterfly zones on 14 sample stretches being redeveloped under the Delhi government’s streetscaping and beautification project.
The department has decided to start the Butterfly Zone project from road number 59 at Old Wazirabad in North Delhi, road number 58 at Surajmal Vihar in East Delhi and Nelson Mandela road in South Delhi. It also has plans to develop small biodiversity parks along the roads wherever space is available.
“Double engine” governance is what the Aam Aadmi Party pitched to constituents in Delhi, and managed to get on Wednesday with the party now at the helm in the state government as well as the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. The role, however, comes with its own set of challenges and opportunities.
The first challenge for the party will be to get a mayor of its choice elected, a task that BJP does not intend to make easy. Senior BJP leaders said Wednesday that the mayor will be of their choice. BJP has 104 councillors and since the anti-defection law does not apply in municipal elections, it may be able to swing votes in its favour on the day that the mayor is elected.
