Year-long delay in MCG deputy mayoral polls lands in HC

Gurgaon: Nearly a year after the MCG House was elected on March 12, 2025, the long-pending elections to the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor have reached the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which will hear the matter next on March 5.A bench of Justices Harsimran Singh Sethi and Vikas Suri on Friday adjourned a petition filed by city resident Rohit Madan after Haryana govt sought time to tell the court when the two posts would finally be filled.Recording the state's request, the court said: "Learned State counsel seeks a short adjournment to apprise this Court as to within how much time, the elections of the Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor in the Municipal Corporation, Gurugram, will be held and the said posts will be filled-up. Adjourned to 05.03.2026."The case has put the delay under judicial scrutiny because, despite the House being in place since last March, MCG has not elected the two office-bearers who are meant to be chosen from among elected councillors.The requirement is set out in Section 36(2) of the Haryana Municipal Corporation Act, 1994, which states that the "Municipal Corporation shall elect from among its elected members, in the manner prescribed, 2 of its elected members to be the senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor…."MCG had earlier attempted to hold these elections on Aug 11, the day councillors in Gurgaon and Manesar also elected members to their finance and contracts committee (F&CC). However, the polls for senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor were deferred indefinitely after councillors failed to reach a consensus on candidates.The absence of the two deputies has also raised questions over the F&CC's composition, as the Act's provisions require the committee to include the senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor also.In the current MCG House, BJP holds a majority, having won 24 of 36 seats last March — its first majority in the corporation. Ten independents were elected, while Congress and JJP won one seat each.