Guwahati: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Shelly Oberoi won the election with 150 votes on Wednesday, giving Delhi its first mayor in three attempts. Rekha Gupta was beaten by Oberoi for mayor of Delhi by the BJP by a margin of 34 votes.
Following her triumph, the AAP chief and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal congratulated Shelly Oberoi and declared that the public had won and the mob had lost.
Delhi’s newly elected Mayor Shelly Oberoi said, “I assure you all that I will run this House in a constitutional manner. I expect you all will maintain the dignity of the House and cooperate in its smooth functioning.”
It should be noted that AAP received 150 votes in the Delhi MCD House, which has 274 members. According to reports, the BJP’s support would have increased to 123 from 113, which is close to the 138 majority threshold, had the aldermen been permitted to cast their votes. However, neither aldermen nor the members who were nominated cast votes today.
AAP is predicted to win three seats in the Standing Committee election, while the BJP is predicted to win two. The battle is for the sixth chair.
Before the Delhi elections, winning candidate Shelly Oberoi claimed that the House had previously been improperly handled by the presiding officer, in contravention of the constitution.
She said, “The BJP is not able to accept the mandate given by the Delhi voters. Hope the BJP will honour the SC judgment. We are confident of winning election to the post of Mayor, deputy Mayor and standing committee.”
The House had convened for the first time on January 6, a month after the municipal polls. It was adjourned after heated confrontations between members of the BJP and AAP. Both the second and third meetings, which were held on January 24 and February 6 respectively, failed to complete the task and were adjourned without choosing a mayor.
Members of the BJP and AAP each held the other accountable for the disruption of the proceedings when the decision to allow nominated members to cast ballots caused a commotion.