Preparations in full swing for Delhi Mayoral polls

New Delhi, April 17 (IANS) Preparations are underway for the smooth conduct of polls to elect Mayor and Deputy Mayor of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on April 25.

Political parties are vying to ensure the win of their candidates in the polls and making strategies for that.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress are holding meetings with their leaders and party workers for the polls.

AAP is trying to retain the Mayoral post while the BJP wants to wrest the seat.

The Mayor and Deputy Mayor in the MCD are elected by the councillors, 10 members of Parliament and some nominated members of the Legislative Assembly.

The voting process is secret, and the members exercise their right through ballot papers. This time, special arrangements are in place to maintain transparency.

The nomination process for the mayor and Deputy Mayor posts began on April 16 and will close on April 21.

Political experts say that the names of the candidates can be announced in the next one to two days.

Delhiites are fixated on who will be the next Mayor and Deputy Mayor and how much improvement they will be able to bring in the city's cleanliness system, drainage, condition of roads and other civic amenities.

The people of Delhi seem to be more alert and aware this time.

The election of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor is not just a formal process, but important for maintaining the capital.

The BJP's double-engine government in Delhi and the Centre are making all-out efforts to win the Mayoral polls.

Notably, Delhi Mayor Mahesh Khichi, an AAP councillor, recently wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah to remove MCD Commissioner Ashwani Kumar after the latter decided to impose a garbage user fee on property tax payers and hike commercial licence fee. Khichi accused the MCD Commissioner of taking “arbitrary decisions”.

However, after a few days, the Mayor and the Commissioner were seen sharing the stage at an event to commemorate the birth anniversary of B. R. Ambedkar.

--IANS

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