Delhi MCD mayor election today, AAP and BJP to contest for top positions: Key points

The national capital will host the Municipal Corporation of Delhi's mayor election today. Two candidates from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and one from the Bharatiya Janata Party are nominated for the top municipal positions, making a total of three candidates. December 27 was the deadline for submitting nominations for the positions of mayor, deputy mayor, and six members of the MCD committee.

Satya Sharma, a councillor for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was proposed by VK Saxena on Thursday to preside over the first House meeting, which will decide the mayor of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, or MCD, on Friday. In response to the appointment, the AAP claimed that the BJP was adamantly committed to eradicating all democratic traditions and institutions.

Top key points on Delhi mayoral poll:

The first municipal House, which will be held on Friday after the crucial election on December 4, will feature the swearing-in of all newly elected council members and the election of the mayor and deputy mayor.

An official notification read, "She (Satya Sharma, councillor, Ward No.226) will be administered oath/affirmation as per section 32 of the Act, by Santosh Kumar Rai, District Magistrate, New Delhi. The other councillors will be administered oath (affirmation by the Presiding Officer)."

The newly formed civic body will elect the mayor after the swearing-in ceremony, as required by section 35 of the Act.

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Shelly Oberoi, Ashu Thakur (AAP), and Rekha Gupta (BJP) are the candidates for the position of mayor. The leading candidate for AAP is Oberoi.

Aaley Mohammad Iqbal and Jalaj Kumar for AAP, as well as Kamal Bagri for BJP, are the candidates for deputy mayor.

There are five one-year terms available for the position of mayor in Delhi; the first is reserved for women, the second for the open category, the third for the reserved category, and the final two are also in the open category.

The MCD election saw the AAP win 134 wards, ending the BJP's 15-year hold on the municipal corporation. The 250-member municipal House will meet for the first time on January 6 after the 2022 elections, with the Congress winning nine seats and the BJP winning 104 wards to finish in the second spot.

Additionally, this was the first municipal election since the wards were redrawn in the previous year, which was crucial because the Center introduced legislation to unify the three local bodies in Parliament, which prompted the need for the election.

On May 22, the unified Municipal Corporation of Delhi went into effect, with Gyanesh Bharti and Ashwani Kumar taking over as its municipal commissioner and special officer, respectively.

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(With inputs from PTI)