The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday revealed its candidates for the posts of mayor and deputy mayor for the local civic authority, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).
Rekha Gupta, a BJP councilor from the city's Shalimar Bagh area, will contest for the post of mayor, while Kamal Bagri, a councilor from the Ram Nagar area, will fight for the deputy mayor’s post.
In a tweet in Hindi, the BJP's Delhi unit said: “BJP Delhi has nominated Rekha Gupta for the post of mayor and Kamal Bagri for the post of deputy mayor in the MCD leadership election. For the members of the Standing Committee, Gajendra Daral, Kamaljit Sehrawat and Pankaj Luthra have been nominated.”
Ever since the BJP lost the MCD elections held earlier this month, it has been changing its stance over contesting the election for the post of mayor.
First, it said that the AAP may have won a majority in the MCD polls, but the mayoral election is still an open game.
A few days later, former Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta said that that BJP would play the role of a strong opposition and the next mayor would be from the AAP, as it received a majority in the MCD.
Meanwhile, AAP candidates Shelly Oberoi and Aale Mohammad Iqbal for the posts of mayor and deputy mayor, respectively, filed their candidacies on Monday.
How is Delhi Mayor Elected?
Delhi's Mayor is not chosen directly by the voters, but rather 250 municipal councils, 10 parliamentarians from Delhi in both the Houses (Lower house as well as Upper House), and 1/5th members of the State Assembly nominated by the speaker will vote to elect a candidate for the top post.
The AAP achieved a resounding victory in the recently held MCD elections, dethroning the BJP from power. Out of a total 250 seats, the AAP won 134, while the BJP secured 104 seats, one more seat was added to its tally after an independent councilor joined it on Monday, and once Delhi's governing Congress was limited to just nine seats.