AAP vs. BJP in the Delhi Municipal Election as Delhi Elected a New Mayor Today: 10 Points
The Congress has announced that it will not take part in the election for mayor of Delhi since its Delhi unit has unanimously resolved not to endorse either the BJP or the AAP.
Today will see the election of Delhi’s new mayor amidst an intensifying power struggle between the incumbent Aam Aadmi Party and Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena. The BJP, who lost the municipal elections after serving three terms in office, has asserted that they will take the position.
Here is a summary of the narrative in 10 points:
- For the top position in the civic body, Shelly Oberoi has been put forth by Arvind Kejriwal’s party. Rekha Gupta, a councilwoman for the BJP in Shalimar Bagh, is running against her. Ashu Thakur is the backup candidate for AAP. Aaley Muhammad Iqbal from the AAP, Jalaj Kumar from the BJP, and Kamal Bagri from the party are the candidates for deputy mayor.
- The election takes place in the midst of controversy over Satya Sharma, a councillor from the BJP, being chosen to preside over the vote. Mukesh Goyal, who the AAP had nominated, was replaced by Mr. Sharma in the Lieutenant Governor’s appointment.
- Arvind Kejriwal, the leader of the AAP and the current Delhi Chief Minister, charged that the Lieutenant Governor, the Centre’s representative in Delhi, tried to sway the election by purposefully choosing candidates who would “skewed” the civic body in favour of the BJP.
- “It is customary to designate the oldest member of the House to serve as Speaker or presiding officer. BJP, however, is adamantly committed to eliminating all democratic customs and institutions “MLA for the AAP Saurabh Bhardwaj tweeted.
- The senior-most councillor in the new civic body is Mukesh Goyal. Former Mayor of the East Delhi Municipal Corporation is Satya Sharma. Mr. Goyal, an Adarsh Nagar council member, has been named the party’s new leader of the house.
- The BJP’s 15-year hegemony in Delhi came to an end when AAP, which won two straight Delhi assembly elections with a massive victory, won the civic body this time. The party won 134 wards after focusing its campaign on the garbage problem.
- The mayor’s position is still up for grabs, according to the BJP, which is in second place with 104 wards. After initially indicating that it would not run for the position, it put out a candidate.
- Only nine of the 250 seats were won by the Congress, which has announced it will not run in the election since its Delhi unit has unanimously resolved not to back either the BJP or the AAP.
- The redrawing of the wards, which the AAP alleged was a BJP tactic to avoid defeat, preceded these civic elections as the first to be held in Delhi. The BJP managed to hold onto control in the civic body for 15 years despite the fact that it has not won an election in Delhi in more than 20 years.
- In Delhi, the position of mayor entails five rotating one-year terms, with the first year designated for women, the second for the open category, the third for the reserved category, and the final two also in the open category.