The ongoing tussle between Delhi’s ruling Aam Aadmi Party and the Lieutenant Governor came to a sudden halt on Thursday evening, as the election for a single Standing Committee member of the civic body, which VK Saxena had demanded be held by 10 pm, was postponed. Following an evening of drama, including a last-minute press conference by senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia, officials from Raj Bhavan announced that the election would not take place on Thursday. A new date was set for Friday at 1 pm.
Referring to the Lieutenant Governor’s directive that the election must be conducted by 10 pm, Mr. Sisodia told reporters, “How can elections be held without councillors? AAP and Congress councillors have gone home.” He further remarked, “Elections on one hour’s notice is unconstitutional.”
The election for the seventh member of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s (MCD) Standing Committee, initially set for today, was postponed by Mayor Shelly Oberoi until October 5. Her decision followed a dispute over the security check of councillors, who were not being allowed to bring their cellphones inside. The mayor called the security measures “undemocratic” and “unconstitutional.”
However, Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena overruled this with an order instructing MCD Commissioner Ashwini Kumar to “submit a report of conduct of elections of the sixth member of standing committee by 10 pm today.” The order further stated, “In case the Mayor is unavailable or refuses to preside over the meeting, the Deputy Mayor may be requested to preside over the meeting for conduct of elections.”
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The MCD’s Standing Committee, which is in charge of most financial decisions, currently consists of three AAP and two BJP members. The appointment of a sixth member, delayed for months, is seen as crucial to breaking the tie. With 12 members already elected from zones, this would bring AAP’s total to eight members and BJP’s to nine in the 18-member Standing Committee.
AAP has accused the Lieutenant Governor of using today’s order as a tactic to shift the balance of power in favor of the BJP.
The BJP stated that it had requested the MCD Commissioner to conduct the election in accordance with the law and the Supreme Court’s directives. The party also announced plans to file a contempt petition against Mayor Shelly Oberoi and Arvind Kejriwal on Friday.
The vacancy arose after BJP councillor Kamaljeet Sehrawat stepped down earlier this year, following her election to the Lok Sabha from the West Delhi parliamentary seat.
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