Delhi MCD standing committee polls face trouble for 3rd day, blows exchanged: Key points
3 min read . Updated: 24 Feb 2023, 08:42 PM IST
Premium- According to the details, the BJP interrupted the counting of votes after the Mayor's action, to which, Mayor Shelly Oberoi insisted the result will be declared without the invalid vote.
The Delhi Municipal Corporation Standing Committee election witnessed utmost chaos as a physical brawl unleashed between Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) councillors in the Delhi Civic Centre. The ruckus also led to one Councillor collapsing.
Notably, this is the third day of commotion at the Delhi civic centre amid the ongoing elections for the standing committee.
The clashes between AAP-BJP members on Wednesday were triggered by a bitter argument between the two sides over the mode of conducting the election to the members of the standing committee.
The BJP has been demanding fresh voting citing violation of ballot secrecy by AAP councillors carrying mobile phones while casting their votes during the initial phase of the election to pick the panel members, before the House was disrupted.
Delhi MCD House Standing Committee poll: Key points
Day 1
-The proceedings to conduct the election for picking members of the committee -- the highest decision-making body of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) -- had begun around 6.15 pm on Wednesday
-On 22 February, videos emerged which showed BJP councillors in the civic centre chanting the 'Hanuman Chalisa' and raising slogans of 'Jai Sri Ram' over delay in the election of members to the Standing Committee of MCD.
-Several members of the BJP and the AAP on Wednesday night had exchanged blows and hurled plastic bottles at each other in the chamber of the MCD House
-The visuals from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi Civic Center comes after the national capital got its mayor with Aam Aadmi Party candidate Shelly Oberoi defeating BJP's Rekha Gupta in the much-anticipated election.
-In a report submitted to AAP mayor Shelly Oberoi and MCD commissioner Gyanesh Bharti, the secretary of the civic body recommended fresh elections citing "badly bruised" election process on Thursday, 23 February.
Day 2
-The situation turned uglier on Thursday morning, even as the stalemate over the election continued.
-The MCD House witnessed high drama punctuated by as many as 15 adjournments since Wednesday evening through the night till early Thursday morning, with both AAP and BJP councilors indulging in brawls, slogan shouting and staying put in Civic Centre - the MCD headquarters.
-After the first day's Hanuman Chalisa and Jai Shree Ram videos, on the second day videos emerged of commotion in the House with AAP councilors getting physically engaged in the ruckus. A video shared by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) showed BJP councilor Rekha Gupta and other councilors on the dias throwing away things kept there.
-The BJP leaders, on the other hand, shared a video claiming party councilor Pramod Gupta was slapped by AAP councilor Devender Kumar.
-On Thursday, they demanded fresh voting for the elections of six members of the standing committee alleging secrecy of ballot was violated due to mayor's permission to councilors to carry mobile phones while casting votes.
Day 3
-Earlier on Friday, ahead of the crucial House meeting, AAP councillor Pawan Sehrawat joined the BJP alleging that he felt "suffocated" due to "corruption" in the party led by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
-Sehrawat also cast his vote during the election, when he was graced with ‘Gaddar’ (Traitor) chants from AAP members.
-A councillor collapsed at Delhi Civic Centre
(With agency inputs)