The decision to defer the announcement of the polls to the three municipal corporations of the capital has created a controversy where the Aam Aadmi Party is accusing the BJP of running away from elections. The three bodies complete their terms shortly and if normal circumstances exist, there has to be fresh election by May. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has claimed that the BJP was aware that it would be defeated this time and hence has sought the Centre’s intervention in postponing the elections.
The general impression is that the Centre wants to once again unify the three civic bodies that came into being after Sheila Dikshit dispensation trifurcated the original municipal corporation. The trifurcation has created more problems and barring the South Delhi corporation, the other two bodies are under great financial stress. In addition, there was a central office for the Registrar of Births and Deaths, and now depending on the jurisdiction, the three corporations issue certificates from three different offices. Many of the old records have been lost and the cost of running the three bodies has also contributed to huge losses. The Central government is of the view that the option of uniting the bodies to increase efficiency and reduce financial burden should be explored in the overall general interest of the city’s residents.
The reason for trifurcating was political. The municipal body has more public dealing than any office of the Delhi government and people by and large are dependent on their area councillors for assisting them in matters pertaining to property tax, sanitation, health issues, and other important civic amenities. When Sheila Dikshit had assumed power, the municipal corporation was also controlled by the Congress, and its past Delhi president and leader, the late Ram Babu Sharma wielded more influence and clout than the Chief Minister. There was a turf war and Diskhit could not digest that anyone from her own party was more powerful than her. In the factional struggle that followed, Dikshit who enjoyed the patronage of the Gandhi family prevailed and had her way. Many veteran politicians who had started their careers in the municipal corporation tried to convince the Congress High Command that this step was unnecessary and would lead to total confusion which would be against the interests of the common people. But their pleas went unheard and the trifurcation became a reality and the BJP was easily able to wrest control of the three bodies.
The three-way split meant that the importance of the office of the Mayor was also diminished. The Mayor in any city is the first citizen and hosts civic receptions for visiting dignitaries However, there were three Mayors and though in their own corporations, they occupied primary positions, their status was not the same from the point of view of the entire capital. A point has been reached that people do not even know the names of the Mayors who are also elected on a rotational basis as per the latest amendments to the Act. Delhi in the past has had some very distinguished people holding the office of Mayor. Aruna Asaf Ali, Nooruddin Ahmed, Bawa Bachiter Singh, Lala Hansraj Gupta, Kidar Nath Sahani, Rajinder Gupta and Mahinder Singh Saathi are remembered to this day. Like the decision in 2012 to trifurcate the civic body was political, the objective behind the unification move is also political. The BJP is sensing that the AAP was expanding its base and it would be a matter of time when it wrested control of at least one or two of the three bodies. Thus, the matter is under consideration of the authorities, and the opinion of legal experts has already been sought. The municipal corporation first created by an Act of Parliament in 1957 has been superseded on several occasions.
In 1975 Indira Gandhi did it and in 1989, it was V.P.Singh. The bureaucracy to gain control reduced the powers of the Mayor and elected representatives and vested them in the municipal commissioners. Politics concerning the corporation is not going to end very soon.