After three failed attempts, the members of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) will meet on Thursday to elect the mayor of the civic body, as Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena gave his nod to convening the next session, officials said on Sunday.
The proposal to hold mayoral elections on Thursday (February 16) was sent to the LG by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor and Delhi State Chief Arvind Kejriwal.
The poll process to elect the mayor was stalled thrice due to a tussle between Delhi's ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the main opposition party in the capital, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
For the first time, the proceedings of the MCD were stalled on January 6, when the members of AAP and BJP clashed with each other. The brawl between the legislators erupted after temporary Speaker Satya Sharma, appointed by the LG, asked the nominated members to take the oath ahead of the election of the mayor.
AAP had even accused the LG of not consulting with government of Delhi before picking up nominated members and intentionally picking up those who are aligned with BJP so that it gets an edge in the mayoral poll.
On January 24, for the second time, the proceedings of MCD House were stalled, followed by protests by AAP and BJP against each other. Then on February 6, the poll process to elect the mayor was stalled after AAP staged a protest against a change of rule by the LG.
If the elections happen on February 16, Delhi will get a female mayor for the first time in a decade.