CM out on bail, MCD likely to restart process for Delhi mayor polls

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) may now restart the process to elect the next Delhi mayor now that chief minister Arvind Kejriwal is out of Tihar jail on interim bail till June 1, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. The process to appoint a “presiding officer” to oversee the pending Delhi mayoral election may begin afresh, civic officials added.

To be sure, one of the bail conditions imposed by the Supreme Court on Kejriwal was that he would not visit the Delhi secretariat and that he shall be bound by the statement made on his behalf that he shall not sign official files unless required and necessary for obtaining clearance/ approval of the lieutenant governor (LG) of Delhi.

“The Supreme Court interim bail order clearly states that the chief minister shall not sign official files unless it is required and necessary for obtaining clearance or approval of the lieutenant governor (LG) of Delhi. The CM’s role in providing inputs for the process of appointing a presiding officer clearly falls in the category of a file where his signature is needed for clearance by LG. The conditions which prevented the appointment of presiding officer have been altered,” said a civic official aware of the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Mayor Shelly Oberoi did not respond to requests for comment.

The term of mayor Oberoi expired on March 31 but an outgoing mayor typically continues to hold the post till the election of a successor. The election of the next Delhi mayor, scheduled on April 25, was cancelled because LG Saxena declined to appoint a presiding officer to conduct the election without input from the chief minister, who was then lodged in judicial custody in Tihar jail.

A second MCD official said that there is now a “strong possibility” of restarting the process for holding elections. “The nominations from both parties (the AAP and the BJP ) would remain the same. We just need to restart the process for which mayor Oberoi will need to initiate the process by selecting a date,” he said.

The official said that under the usual process, the file for the nomination of a presiding office goes from the mayor’s office to municipal secretariat, the commissioner, the urban development ministry, the chief minister, and finally to the LG. “The LG has complete discretion over the appointment,” the official added.

On April 25, LG Saxena said, “I do not deem it appropriate to exercise my power as administrator to appoint the presiding officer in the absence of inputs from the chief minister.”

Under law, the post of mayor in the current cycle is reserved for a member of the Scheduled Caste community.

The selection of the date for holding the election will also decide the role of the seven Lok Sabha MPs from Delhi who are also members of the corporation. “The existing seven BJP MPs will continue to have power to vote till the 17th Lok Sabha is dissolved. Once the new set of MPs is elected, they will be able to vote only after the oath is administered to them in Lok Sabha,” the second official said.