Congress boycotts MCD mayor, deputy mayor elections in Delhi

Congress boycotts MCD mayor, deputy mayor elections in Delhi
14 Nov 2024

The Delhi Congress Party has decided to boycott the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) mayoral elections.

The party is protesting the shortened term offered to the next mayor, who belongs to the Dalit community.

"We have decided to walk out from the house and refuse to participate in the mayoral election," said Congress Councillor Nazia Danish.

The party wants a full term for the Dalit mayor, not just four months.

MCD mayoral elections: AAP and BJP candidates face off
Election details

The MCD mayoral elections was held on Thursday, November 14, after a seven-month delay amid political tussles between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The election process began with AAP's Sanjay Singh casting his vote first.

The contest pits AAP's Mahesh Khichi against BJP's Kishan Lal for mayor and AAP's Ravinder Bhardwaj against BJP's Nita Bisht for deputy mayor.

The AAP holds 125 seats in the 250-member MCD House while BJP has 113 seats.

BJP dominates MCD's standing committee, AAP challenges
Committee dispute

The new mayor of the national capital will be a Dalit this time.

This is because, according to MCD statutes, mayoral elections are held annually in April for a five-year term that includes an equal number of single-year terms for different categories on a rotation basis.

The first year is for women, the second for open category, the third for reserved, and the final two for open again.