BJP Wins Last Vacant Seat Of Delhi Civic Body’s Standing Committee After AAP, Congress Stay Away – News18

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday won the last vacant seat of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s (MCD) 18-member Standing Committee unopposed as the councillors of 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 vote as the AAP boycotted the polls saying that the voting process is illegal.

With this, the BJP now has 10 members in the panel while the AAP has eight. The standing committee is the highest decision-making body of the national capital’s civic body.

AAP Reacts

AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal alleged that the BJP wrongly overpowered the MCD and stole the mandate. Addressing the Delhi Assembly, Kejriwal said that according to 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.

“Is this election?” he posed and accused the BJP of resorting to “hooliganism”.

Ahead of the polls, former deputy CM Manish Sisodia and Mayor Shelly Oberoi called L-G’s orders “unconstitutional” and said the AAP councillors will only participate in the polls on October 5, as officially stated in Thursday’s MCD session.

Why AAP boycotted standing committee polls?

Amid a high-drama voting process, the election to the last vacant seat began earlier today, as per MCD Commissioner Ashwani Kumar’s order issued upon L-G V K Saxena’s directions late Thursday.

The election was scheduled to take place on Thursday. It was not conducted and the MCD session marred by protests, was adjourned to October 5 by Mayor Shelly Oberoi on the ground that the councillors be allowed to carry mobile phones inside the voting hall/polling booth. Councillors from the AAP refused to enter the house protesting against security checks that were put in place at Thursday’s session. The civic body had also pasted an order prohibiting mobile phones in the House.

Following disruption over frisking of the councillors, the election was postponed with the meeting of the House being adjourned till October 5. However, LG Saxena overturned the mayor’s decision and asked the municipal commissioner to conduct the election on Friday. Anguished over this, the AAP refused to participate in the election.

The polling was held in the presence of Additional Commissioner Jitendra Yadav, who was made the Presiding Officer in the absence of the Mayor and Deputy mayor.

Why election took place?

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

(With inputs from agencies)