Aam Aadmi Party councillor Shelly Oberoi was elected as the new mayor of Delhi on Wednesday after she defeated the Bharatiya Janata Party’s candidate Rekha Gupta.
The East Patel Nagar ward councillor from AAP secured 150 votes while BJP councillor from Shalimar Bagh-B ward Rekha Gupta secured 116 votes in a 250-member civic body, reported The Hindu.
The election for the mayor’s post was postponed three times since the civic elections in December due to a prolonged tussle between the AAP and the BJP. Councillors from the AAP had opposed the presiding officer’s decision to allow aldermen to vote.
The party had also opposed Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena’s decision to name ten aldermen without consulting the Delhi government.
Aldermen are nominated councillors who have special knowledge of municipal administration and are tasked with assisting the House in decisions of public importance. They are appointed by the lieutenant governor.
However, in a major relief to AAP on February 18, the Supreme Court held that nominated members of the Delhi municipal corporation cannot vote in the elections for the mayor’s post.
AAP’s national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister congratulated Oberoi on her win and said that it was a victory of Delhi’s citizens as “goons” were defeated.
The deputy mayor, and six members of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi will also be elected on Wednesday. The AAP has nominated Aale Mohammad Iqbal while the BJP nominated Kamal Bagri for the post of deputy mayor.
After the mayoral election on Wednesday, Oberoi said that all councillors will officially start working from Thursday, according to The Hindu. “The city’s landfills will also be inspected tomorrow itself,” she said.
Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor congratulated Oberoi on her win. However, he added: “It is regrettable that the woman Mayor will get a very short term of just 38 days and so all parties should come together to elect a woman Mayor for full one year term in April 2023.”
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