Delhi MCD mayoral polls tomorrow: No presiding officer appointed yet for the AAP Vs BJP battle — here's your guide

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) will conduct its annual elections for the positions of mayor and deputy mayor tomorrow on Friday, April 26. The date coincides with the second phase of voting for the Lok Sabha Elections 2024.

ALSO READ: Lok Sabha elections 2024 phase 2 voting on April 26: Key candidates, full list of all constituencies going to polls

The upcoming MCD polls evoke memories of the dramatic events of last year's mayoral elections when the polls were suspended three times.

This year too, the drama continues...

With less than one day remaining for the MCD elections, no presiding officer, responsible for overseeing the election process, has been appointed yet.

Delhi's Urban Development Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged that the chief secretary bypassed him and sent the file related to the appointment of the presiding officer directly to the Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena's office.

In a letter, the AAP leader has asked the chief secretary to explain which legal provisions empowered him to bypass the elected government while sending the file on the appointment of the presiding officer directly to LG's office.

Bharadwaj also requested Saxena to return the file to the chief secretary with an instruction that it should be re-routed through the urban development minister. 

Speaking to newswire ANI, Bharadwaj said generally the sitting Mayor plays the role of presiding officer in the mayoral elections. He alleged that the authorities “either want to appoint a presiding officer from BJP or want to delay the elections.”

When are the MCD mayoral elections scheduled?

The MCD mayoral poll is scheduled to be held on Friday, April 26. Elections will be held for the posts of mayor and deputy mayor.

“The ordinary April (2024) meeting of the MCD will be held on at 11 am on April 26," the MCD said in a notification, according to reports. The election of the mayor and deputy mayor will be held in the same meeting.

The Election Commission said on Wednesday it has no objection to the MCD mayoral polls scheduled for April 26. However, the approval for the presiding officer's appointment is yet to come from LG's office.

This time the mayor's post is reserved for Scheduled Castes.

MCD mayoral elections: Who are AAP and BJP candidates?

The AAP has fielded Mahesh Khichi for the mayor's post and Ravinder Bhardwaj for the deputy mayor's post. Khichi, 45, represents Dev Nagar ward number 84 in the MCD House. He has been associated with AAP since its inception in 2012. Ravinder Bhardwaj represents Aman Vihar ward.

Two ‘rebel’ AAP councillors — Vijay Kumar and Narendra Kumar — had filed their nominations for the deputy mayor's post. This indicated internal conflict within the party. However, Narendra Kumar withdrew his nomination later, without citing any reason.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded Kishan Lal for the post of mayor and Neeta Bisht for the deputy mayor's post.

MCD mayoral elections: Who can cast votes?

Apart from all the 250 councillors, 10 MPs (seven Lok Sabha and three Rajya Sabha) and 14 MLAs (one fifth of the total 70 MLAs in Delhi assembly) can cast vote in the mayoral election. This takes the total electorate count to 274.

A candidate needs 138 votes (one more than half of 274) to win the post of the mayor.

MCD mayoral elections: Who is likely to win? — here's what numbers say

Currently, the AAP rules the MCD with 134 councillors, while the BJP has 105 councillors. There are a total of 250 members in the MCD House.

This year, the Congress decided to support AAP candidates in the Delhi mayoral polls. The parties are also part of the Opposition's INDIA bloc.

Now, the AAP has 134 councillors, 13 MLAs and three Rajya Sabha MPs. It may also have support of one of three Independent councillors. This would takes its number of electors to 151. The AAP candidate will also have the support of nine Congress councillors, as promised by the party.

If all the nine Congress councillors choose to support AAP candidate, then the total electors in favour of AAP will be rise to 160 — the number comfortable to win the mayoral polls.

ALSO READ: MCD Poll Results: AAP wrests power from BJP, wins 134 wards of 250 wards

Meanwhile, the BJP has 105 councillors, one nominated MLA and seven Lok Sabha MPs. The party's total stands at 113. Even if the two independent councillors in the MCD chose to vote for the BJP, its tally can only reach 115, 23 votes short of reaching the majority mark.

(With inputs from agencies)