New Delhi: The stage is all set for the crucial day as the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) prepares for important Standing Committee elections on Thursday. The ruling AAP and the opposition BJP are vying for dominance in this key electoral battle, which aims to fill the sole vacancy in the 18-member Standing Committee, the MCD’s highest decision-making body.
This vacancy arose following the resignation of BJP councillor Kamaljeet Sehrawat after her election to the West Delhi Lok Sabha seat earlier this year.
The long-pending Standing Committee election comes after a nearly 1.8-month delay due to a political deadlock between the AAP and the BJP . The deadlock was broken by a recent Supreme Court ruling, which upheld the validity of 10 aldermen appointed by the Lieutenant Governor (LG), a point of contention that had stalled the process. This ruling has bolstered the BJP’s chances of gaining a foothold in the Standing Committee.
In a setback for the AAP on Wednesday, three of its councillors switched sides and joined the BJP just a day before the Standing Committee election. Dilshad Colony Garden councillor Preeti, Green Park councillor Sarita Phogat, and Madanpur Khadar East councillor Praveen Kumar joined the BJP, changing the numbers dynamics in the corporation.
The BJP said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has lost majority in the MCD House and hence the “moral authority” to be in power. “The ruling Aam Aadmi Party has today lost majority amongst the elected councillors of Municipal Corporation of Delhi and thus has no more moral right to be in power. The MCD at present has an effective strength of 249 elected councillors and the AAP now has only 124 councillors with it, while the majority mark is 125. Hence, it has clearly lost majority,” said Leader of Opposition in the MCD Raja Iqbal Singh.
