Delhi Mayor Poll: Action on card to delay electing MCD head

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By Our Special Correspondent

New Delhi, January 24: Camps of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) kept ears to each other all day on Monday, as they braced up for the mayor election on Tuesday. Consensus view in both the camps converged that it will be a day of action, stunt and drama, with no outcome.

“If election is held, we will win,” said a senior ranking functionary of the Delhi unit of the BJP. He drew confidence from the fact that “there is a clear divide within the ranks of the AAP on the mayor candidate and some of them are in touch with the BJP”.

Showing significant interest in the mayor election, top leadership of the BJP is also learnt to be keeping a close tab. Delhi BJP working president Virendra Sachdeva is learnt to have been closted with senior party functionaries at the party headquarters on the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg.

“The AAP is also keeping a close tab on the BJP. There is an air of uncertainty that the mayor poll may not be held and action as seen recently when the BJP and AAP councilors nearly came to blows could be on the cards,” said a source emerging out of a strategy meeting of the ruling party in the national capital.

There is also an emerging view from both the camps, the BJP and the AAP, that the mayor election now may be held in March. “There’s not much of stake to gain from having a mayor for just a little more than two months. In that case, there could be election in March for the next year’s mayor,” added the source from the AAP camp.

Delhi mayor is elected for one year. First year is reserved for woman. If a successful election is held on Tuesday, the newly-elected mayor would hold office till March 31.

While the AAP won the MCD election, the BJP came close and the score line was 132-104 in favour of the Arvind Kejriwal-led outfit. Besides the councilors, the MPs and MLAs (who have voting powers) too will decide the fate of the winning election. Alderman nominated by the Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena is technically not supposed to vote in the mayor election. But they can vote in the zonal election, which will be crucial for electing the members of the standing committee, which is vested with the decision making powers.