Delhi Mayor polls stalled as AAP-BJP clash, many injured 

Amid chaos and clash between Bharatiya Janata Party and Aam Aadmi Party councillors at the Civic Center on Friday, the MCD House was adjourned even before the commencement of voting for mayoral polls. Councillors from both parties clashed and then took to protests with sloganeering against each other ahead of the Delhi Mayor polls. Marshals had to make their presence felt as several councillors were injured in the process. 

BJP has claimed that its councillors Inder Kaur, Anita Deoli and Kamaljeet Sherawat sustained injuries during the protest while AAP took to social media to list its injured. “There was a fatal attack on our councilor in the MCD House. BJP councilors involved in the attack,” AAP MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj said. 

A huge ruckus was witnessed at the Civic Centre, before the commencement of voting for the Delhi mayor elections, over the swearingin of nominated councillors. High drama ensued in the house for over an hour as Delhi was all set to elect its first single mayor in 10 years after the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) was unified last year. 

High pitched ruckus was heard in the MCD House as the presiding officer invited aldermen Manoj Kumar to take oath first. The presiding officer, MCD commissioner and other officials left the House after the ruckus. 

AAP, which won the MCD polls, with 134 seats has fielded two candidatesShelly Oberoi along with Ashu Thakur. While Rekha Gupta, a three-term councillor from Shalimar Bagh, is the BJP’s nominee for the mayor poll. 

The AAP, which ended the 15-year-long reign of the BJP in the MCD polls held on 4 December, has cried foul play over Delhi Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena’s decision to appoint BJP councillor Satya Sharma as the presiding officer of MCD and 10 aldermen to the civic body. As the House was adjourned over the ruckus, the LG House issued a clarification and said that any attempts to deviate from the decision or create confusion regarding it by the AAP is nothing but its characteristic politics of deceit, blatant lies and deliberate attempts at misleading. Along with the post of mayor and deputy mayor, the standing committee members will also be elected.