Delhi Mayor polls postponed, Supreme Court says nominated members cannot vote

The Delhi MCD polls, which was scheduled on February 16 has been postponed to a date after February 17.

New Delhi, Feb 13: The nominated members cannot vote in the elections for the Mayor of Municipal Corporation, observed the Supreme Court while hearing a petition filed by AAP challenging voting rights in MCD elections.

"Nominated members cannot go for election. The Constitutional provision is very clear", Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said.

Further, the bench could not hear the matter today and agreed to take it up on February 17.

Following the order, the Delhi MCD polls, which was scheduled on February 16 has been postponed to a date after February 17.

Delhi Lt Governor VK Saxena has given his nod to convene the next session of the MCD House on February 16 for election to the post of mayor. This will be the fourth meeting of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) House since December's civic polls to elect the mayor.

Three successive meetings of the House were adjourned in the last one month amid ruckus and commotion over the decision to give voting rights to aldermen without electing the mayor, deputy mayor and members of the standing committee of the civic body. After the civic polls in December, the House was first convened on January 6 but was adjourned following acrimonious exchanges between members of the BJP and AAP.

The second municipal House held on January 24 was briefly adjourned after the oath-taking ceremony, and was later adjourned till the next date by the pro tem presiding officer. After that, the House was adjourned on last Monday again for the third time, a month after the first municipal House.

AAP has alleged that the mayoral election could not be held as the BJP was "strangulating democracy and the Constitution of India", while the saffron party accused the Aam Aadmi Party of coming out with excuses to stall the mayoral poll and blamed it for the stalemate.

AAP had emerged as a clear winner in the December polls, bagging 134 wards and ending the BJP's 15-year rule in the civic body. The BJP won 104 wards to finish second, while the Congress won nine wards in the 250-member municipal House.