At MCD, internal polls over but uncertainty expected to prevail again in a few months

Nine members — half of the members from the House (6), half of the members from the wards (12) — are set to retire as per the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Act of 1993. The corporation holds a draw-of-lots to list the retirees. Fresh elections then take place to fill up the seats.

An MCD official, involved in the election process, said, “One year is defined under Section 2 (67) of the Delhi Municipal Corporation (DMC) Act — the Section defines it to be between April 1 and March 31. The fresh elections are due to take place in the first week of April.”

In the subsequent years, the Act also states, members who have held office for the longest time shall retire, eliminating the need for a draw-of-lots. Political parties also have the option to re-nominate these retired members for re-election to the Standing Committee, allowing them to potentially continue in their roles.

Currently, the Standing Committee consists of nine members from the BJP and eight from the AAP. The election to the one seat, which has been vacated after BJP leader Kamaljeet Sehrawat’s elevation as an MP, is also crucial. Whichever party secures this seat will gain the majority in the Committee, enabling it to elect a chairperson from within its ranks.

However, if the retirement of the nine members takes place on March 31, the tenure of the current members would be cut extremely short — making the months-long battle to secure a majority in the Committee a futile endeavour. If the retirements take place, it could completely change the current dynamics within as the party that gains the majority might end up losing seats.

Commenting on the issue, BJP’s Raja Iqbal Singh, the leader of the Opposition, said, “I am not fully aware of the matter since the Standing Committee is still to be constituted to its full strength. The past year should not be considered, we will have to take legal advice on this.”

“This is how the Standing Committee used to function so far, elections for nine new members would take place in the first week of April, right after a new mayor was elected, but ever since the AAP has come to power nothing has been working as per the set schedule, it is extremely uncertain on what decisions will be taken in this regard,” said Mira Aggarwal, a former MCD mayor from the BJP.

Former mayor and Congress leader Farhad Suri said, “I don’t know the legalities of it but practically this should be done as has been the case in the previous years, just like it is mandatory to hold elections for a new mayor after the completion of every term.”

Another MCD official said, “Mayor Shelly Oberoi’s first term had lasted for three months after she was re-elected on February 22. This was because the Act had stated that fresh elections must take place by the end of the (financial) year so she had to contest a re-election.”

After being elected as the first mayor of the reunified MCD on February 22, 2023, Oberoi had to contest again against BJP’s Shikha Rai in April 2023.