The BJP-led South Delhi Municipal Corporation may end up with a Congress Mayor this year when elections are held on April 24. Interestingly, that may depend on the Aam Aadmi Party.
MLAs and MPs whose constituencies come under the corporation are also entitled to vote in the elections for Mayor and Deputy Mayor. Since five AAP MLAs, four BJP Lok Sabha MPs and one Congress MP from Rajya Sabha also have votes, the contest could be quite close.
In 2014, Congress candidate Praveen Rana won the post of Deputy Mayor while BJP’s Khushi Ram managed to win the mayoral poll by one vote. Had Congress MP Parvez Hashmi turned up, there may have been a tie for the post of Mayor.
Delhi Congress president Ajay Maken said: “We will make sure Mr. Hashmi is there on time for the polls.”
This time, AAP MLAs Narayan Dutt (Badarpur), Pramila Tokas (R.K. Puram), Mahinder Yadav (Vikaspuri), Gulab Singh (Matiala) and Sahi Ram (Tughlakabad) will have a vote. Mr. Sahi Ram was himself a councillor in the SDMC till the Assembly elections and he was also the Deputy Mayor in 2013.
Apart from Congress’ Mr. Hashmi, BJP MPs Meenakshi Lekhi, Ramesh Bidhuri, Parvesh Verma, Maheish Girri are also entitled to vote.
SDMC Leader of the House Radhey Shyam Sharma said: “The BJP will win both elections as we have a clear majority with 50 of our own councillors, plus support from others.”
The Leader of the Opposition, Farhad Suri, said it will be a tight race this time as well. Both the leaders refused to comment on the ‘AAP effect’. AAP leader Ashutosh said the party had not taken a call on the issue yet.
Meanwhile, the two top parties in the corporations are struggling to come to an internal consensus as to who should be nominated for the polls. North Delhi Municipal Corporation Mayor Yogender Chandolia said the party had not decided on the tickets, but that it would “win comfortably”.
In the SDMC, Mr. Sharma and Standing Committee chairperson Subhash Arya are among the senior leaders vying for Mayor’s post.
Congress, BJP yet unsure on who to nominate to the post
