MCD mayoral polls postponed due to non-appointment of presiding officer

NEW DELHI: Polls to elect the new mayor and deputy mayor of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, scheduled for April 26, have been postponed, an official order said on Thursday. The decision comes amidst the non-appointment of a presiding officer.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) announced the postponement of the mayoral polls following a directive from the Raj Niwas, issued on behalf of Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena. The letter highlighted that the Lieutenant Governor "does not deem it appropriate to exercise his power as administrator to appoint the presiding officer in absence of the inputs from chief minister".

Despite receiving clearance from the Election Commission to proceed with the mayoral polls, the MCD expressed that the crucial appointment of the presiding officer has not been finalized.

Consequently, the civic body said in its order that conducting the elections for both the mayor and deputy mayor may not be feasible at this juncture.

MCD Mayor Shelly Oberoi took a swipe at BJP and alleged that saffron party is in fear and does not want AAP mayor to win the election, "The Mayor and Deputy Mayor elections were to take place tomorrow on April 26. A file was moved to the LG to appoint a presiding officer. But the elections have been postponed by them saying that they cannot appoint a presiding office without the CM's opinion. The BJP is in fear. They do not want the AAP mayor to win the Mayoral elections. The house would be called tomorrow but the mayoral elections would be postponed. We hope that our CM is released soon," said Oberoi.