AAP’s Mahesh Khichi elected Delhi mayor

New Delhi, Nov 14 (IANS): Amid acrimonious scenes, AAP councillor Mahesh Kumar Khichi, from Dev Nagar ward, was on Thursday elected the new Delhi mayor, beating his BJP rival Kishan Lal in a tightly fought 133-130 vote contest.

AAP's Ravindra Bhardwaj was elected unopposed to the post of Deputy Mayor as BJP councillor Neeta Bisht withdrew her nomination at the last minute.

The election held after a delay of about seven months was seen as a high-stakes battle ahead of the Assembly elections in February. The Congress did not take part in voting and staged a walkout to protest against a truncated tenure – five months instead of a full year- for a Dalit mayor.

This year the mayor’s election was open only to candidates from reserved categories.

Soon after his election, Mayor Khichi said: “I would like to thank former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and all councillors and everyone who helped me win. I assure you that I will work on issues and needs of people.”

The new mayor will have a truncated term and serve till March 2025. Normally, a mayor is elected in April but the current elections have been delayed due to a disagreement over procedures to be followed for the appointment of the presiding officer. The outgoing mayor Shelly Oberoi is from the AAP.

As per the provisions of the DMC, all councillors were barred from bringing mobile phones to the House. The last mayoral elections in September witnessed acrimony as the AAP boycotted it in protest against the frisking of its councillors.

The election was presided over by BJP councillor and former East Corporation Mayor Satya Sharma, who was appointed by Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena to oversee the exercise.

The Congress, which has seven councillors, boycotted the mayoral election. The party had stayed away from the previous elections as well.

The decision was criticised by AAP councillor Shagufta Choudhry. “This is unacceptable. Till last month they were demanding the early election of a Dalit mayor. But today, on election day, you decide to boycott the process,” Choudhry told IANS.

In a dramatic development ahead of voting, Congress councillor Sabila Begam resigned from the party to support the AAP candidate. She said boycotting the mayoral election would indirectly help the BJP.

Earlier, the municipal secretary issued a circular on Wednesday stating: "In exercise of powers conferred upon him under section 77 (a) of Delhi Municipal Corporation (DMC) Act, LG has nominated Satya Sharma, a member of MCD, to preside over the meeting to be held for the election of the mayor on November 14.”

By virtue of the nomination of seven Lok Sabha MPs, three Rajya Sabha MPs and 14 Delhi legislators to the municipal House, the AAP enjoys the support of 142 members, BJP has 122 votes and Congress seven. There is one independent, besides one vacant seat.

In the 250-member MCD House, the AAP had won 134 seats in 2022. However, since then the party’s representation has come down to 125. The AAP won a majority in the MCD House in December 2022, ending the BJP’s 15-year rule.

In the previous mayor elections in September 2023, The L-G's nomination of 10 aldermen was also objected to by the AAP as it saw the move to favour the BJP. As per the DMC Act, 10 people over the age of 25, who possess special experience in municipal administration, can be nominated to the civic body by the administrator or the L-G. They are expected to assist the civic House in decision-making.