Delhi Mayoral poll to be held on Feb 22

New Delhi: Delhi Lieutenant Governor (L-G) V K Saxena has given his nod to convene the municipal House on February 22 to hold the election for the post of Mayor, Raj Niwas officials said on Saturday.

The L-G’s nod came hours after Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal recommended to him that the Mayoral election be held on the said date.

The development comes a day after the Supreme Court ordered the issuance of a notice within 24 hours for convening the first meeting of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to fix the date of elections for the Mayor, the deputy Mayor and the members of the Standing Committee.

“Recommended MCD mayor elections to be held on 22 Feb,” Kejriwal said in a tweet earlier in the day.

Meanwhile, addressing a press conference, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal alleged that the L-G tried to “interfere in the administration of justice” and committed “contempt of court”.

Kejriwal said the petitioner in the case, the AAP’s Mayoral candidate Shelly Oberoi, had added the L-G and the Delhi government as separate parties to her petition in the apex court.

He said the AAP government and the L-G had “contrary viewpoints on all the issues related to the case”.

The AAP had vociferously opposed the nomination of 10 aldermen by the L-G to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and the decision of the civic body’s presiding officer to give them the right to vote to elect the Mayor, the deputy Mayor and the standing committee members.

“The Delhi government had asked the urban development secretary to hire Gautam Narayan in the case. But the L-G, on February 9, directed the official to appoint Solicitor General Tushar Mehta as the government’s lawyer to defend the case,” Kejriwal said.

The Chief Minister added that he has written to the L-G, conveying to him that his actions were not in line with the constitutional post he held.

“L-G forced Del government to appoint Tushar Mehta in the MCD Mayor case in SC. So, Tushar Mehta represented both opposing parties — Del government and L-G. Isn’t this interference in the administration of justice? Isn’t this a criminal act?” Kejriwal asked in a tweet.

In his letter to Saxena, the CM said in the interest of justice and to enable the Supreme Court to arrive at a proper conclusion, it was important that all viewpoints were presented before it.

“However, there was an attempt by the L-G to prevent the Delhi government from presenting its views before the Supreme Court,” he said, citing the directions issued by the L-G’s office on February 9.

The AAP leader claimed that Saxena wanted to decide the submissions to be made before the top court for himself as well as for the Delhi government.

“Most actions taken by the L-G regarding the MCD Mayor election were brazenly illegal and unconstitutional. Was that the reason why the L-G wanted to prevent the truth being stated before the Supreme Court?” he asked.

The Chief Minister also alleged that officers were threatened to do the bidding for the L-G, saying it was a “crime” and “conspiracy” on the part of Saxena to hide the truth.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia also lashed out at the L-G in a tweet in Hindi, saying he thinks of himself as a “Bollywood villain” who is above courts, law and justice.

Kejriwal said the Supreme Court foiled the “conspiracy” hatched by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the L-G to influence the Mayoral poll, and asserted that the AAP candidate will win the election since the party has the majority in the MCD House.