AAP councillor Mukesh Goyal to be presiding officer for MCD mayoral election

New Delhi [India], April 24 : Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena on Monday approved the name of Mukesh Goyal as presiding officer of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) meeting to conduct Mayoral polls.

Mukesh Goel's appointment as the presiding officer came in view of the fresh upcoming Mayoral elections on April 26.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal sent Mukesh Goyal's name to the LG on behalf of the Delhi government.

Mukesh Goyal is the senior councillor of the current MCD House and will be the presiding officer for the upcoming mayoral election.

In the last MCD polls, LG VK Saxena turned down the Kejriwal government's request to appoint Aam Aadmi Party councillor Mukesh Goel as presiding officer of the MCD meeting to conduct Mayoral polls.

However, the ruling party once again proposed the name of the seniormost councillor for the post.

The L-G in January this year had nominated BJP councillor Satya Sharma as the protem presiding officer of an MCD meeting, among the list of six names sent to him by the AAP government. The other names on the list were Mukesh Goel, Preeti, Shakeela Begum, Hemchand Goel and Neema Bhagat.

The AAP had raised questions on the development, alleging that presiding officer Satya Sharma, who was nominated by the L-G, unconstitutionally allowed the aldermen to vote in the process of electing the mayor in the maiden meeting of the House, which led to three stormy sessions of the MCD.

However, according to Raj Niwas, Mukesh Goel, a five-time councillor, was eliminated because of an investigation into a charge against him of "seeking Rs one crore for a party ticket in the recently-concluded MCD election".