BJP wins Delhi civic body panel seat unopposed, AAP says 'mandate stolen'

The BJP won an unopposed seat in the MCD's Standing Committee as AAP and Congress boycotted the election, while AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal accused the BJP of violating protocols and stealing the mandate.

In Short

• AAP, Congress boycott civic body's Standing Committee polls
• BJP now has 10 members, while AAP has 8 in the 18-member body
• Arvind Kejriwal claims protocols not followed, BJP stole mandate

The BJP on Friday won an unopposed seat in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD)'s Standing Committee as the councillors from the ruling AAP and Congress boycotted the election.

BJP councillor from Bhati, Sundar Singh, was elected to the 18-member Standing Committee, which is the highest decision-making body of the civic body. Singh received 115 votes, while AAP candidate Nirmala Kumari did not receive any votes.

Reacting to the BJP’s victory, AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal alleged that the saffron party had wrongfully overpowered the MCD and stolen the mandate. The opposition BJP now has 10 members on the panel, while the ruling AAP has only eight.

Kejriwal further alleged that the election was conducted without following the required protocols, including sending a notice to every councillor 72 hours before the meeting. "Is this an election?" he asked while addressing the Delhi Assembly, also accusing the BJP of resorting to "hooliganism".

During his address to the Delhi Assembly, Kejriwal said that, according to the rules, only the Mayor can convene a meeting of the MCD House. However, he claimed that the Lieutenant Governor changed this by directing an Additional Commissioner of the civic body to do so.

"It is not because an LG comes and sits, an officer comes and sits and runs the government according to his own wishes by sidelining the elected people. These people destroyed democracy," Kejriwal said.

Ahead of the election, Mayor Shelly Oberoi called the election "unconstitutional" and announced that AAP councillors would not participate in the poll. Congress also made the same decision.

Oberoi had postponed the Standing Committee election until October 5. However, Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena overturned the decision and directed MCD Commissioner Ashwani Kumar to hold the election on Friday at 1 pm.