Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Feb 17: The Supreme Court on Friday will resume hearing a petition filed by AAP mayoral candidate Shelly Oberoi seeking early holding of the mayoral election for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). The election to the post has been delayed on three occasions following ruckus in the House as AAP and BJP members were unable to agree on the question of allowing nominated members to vote.
In its previous hearing, on Monday, the Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud observed that nominating members cannot go for election vindicating the Aam Aadmi Party’s declaration.
“The constitutional provision is very clear,” the bench observed as it posted the matter for hearing today.
The election had been postponed to a date after February 17. Amid a prolonged tussle between the AAP and the BJP, there have been three failed attempts to elect the Mayor. Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena had earlier accepted a proposal by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s party to hold the election on February 16. The Mayor could not be elected when the councillors met on January 6 and 24, and February 6, due to protests by the BJP and AAP after 10 MCD members nominated by the Lieutenant Governor was allowed to vote.
A total of 250 elected council members, seven Delhi-based MPs for the Lok Parliament and three for the Rajya Sabha, and 14 MLAs make up the electoral college for the MCD mayor election. 13 AAP MLAs and a BJP member have been nominated by the Speaker of the Delhi Assembly to the civic body.
In the civic body elections held in December of last year, the AAP won 134 wards and the BJP 104. As he won the Mundka ward, a BJP dissident who had run as an independent joined the party. There were 274 votes cast in total for the mayor. The number games are in favour of the AAP, which has 150 votes to the BJP’s 113.
