Delhi Mayoral Elections to be held today: 10 things to know

The Municipal House of Delhi will meet on Tuesday to elect the mayor and deputy mayor. The election was abruptly adjourned on January 6 after heated exchanges between councillors of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The clash was over the presiding officer's decision to administer the oath to the 10 aldermen first. 

On Monday, BJP councillor Satya Sharma, who was appointed as the presiding officer, told PTI that all preparations for the Tuesday meeting are done. "We are ready for Tuesday. I have informed the LG and his MCD secretary about the ruckus of the last time," Sharma said, adding that the councillors, who were involved in the January 6 incident, should bear the cost of the damage.

On Monday, senior AAP leader Durgesh Pathak urged the BJP to let the house function “peacefully”, saying that AAP councillors want the Mayoral election to be held as soon as possible.

Here are the top points of the Delhi mayoral elections

1.    Presiding Officer Satya Sharma has said the LG-appointed aldermen will take oath first on Tuesday, a PTI report stated. Following that, the elected councillors will be taking the oath.

2.    The post of mayor in the national capital sees five single-year terms on a rotation basis. The first year is reserved for women candidates. The second year is for the open category, third for the reserved category, and the remaining two again for the open category.

3.    So, as per the calculations, Delhi will get a woman mayor this year.

4.    This year’s election for the sole mayor of the MCD will be the first in a decade. In 2012, the corporation was split into three separate civic bodies, each having its own mayor.

5.    In 2022, the Centre decided to unify the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (104 wards), South Delhi Municipal Corporation (104 wards), and East Delhi Municipal Corporation (64 wards) into one entity. Under the new amendment, Delhi will get its first mayor for the city in 10 years.

6.    Three candidates are contesting for the Delhi mayor post -- two are from the AAP and one is from the BJP. AAP’s nominated candidates are Shelly Oberoi and Ashu Thakur.

7.    On the other hand, BJP has fielded Rekha Gupta

8.    The candidates for the deputy mayor post are Aaley Mohammad Iqbal and Jalaj Kumar of the AAP, and Kamal Bagri of the BJP.

9.    Delhi’s MCD polls were held on December 4, and the counting of votes was done on December 7.

10. The AAP bagged 134 wards, ending BJP's 15-year rule in the civic body. The BJP had won 104 wards to finish second while the Congress bagged only 9 seats.