Delhi Mayoral polls clash leads to war of words between AAP, BJP leaders

A war of words started between Aam Adami Party and Bharatiya Janata Party leaders over the ruckus and clash at the Civic Centre for the order in which to take oath before the commencement of the election to determine Delhi's mayor, deputy mayor and other leaders on Friday.

BJP and AAP councillors clashed with each other and raised slogans against each other before the commencement of the polls.

High drama ensued in the house for over an hour as Delhi was all set to elect its first single mayor in 10 years after the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) was unified last year.

Hitting out at the BJP, AAP councillor Praveen Kumar accused the party of doing "hooliganism".

"BJP doing hooliganism. Swearing-in of the nominated councillors was being held first. A ruckus broke out when we objected to it and asked that the swearing-in of elected councillors should be held first. They (BJP) threw a momento," Kumar said.

While coming down heavily on the AAP, BJP MP and Union Minister Meenakashi Lekhi said, "why they are afraid when they are in the majority?"

"All the ruckus was started by AAP leaders. This is because they are unaware of the rules. When they are in the majority, why are they afraid? AAP MPs do the same in Rajya Sabha as well. They should allow voting," she said.

The polls for the prestigious positions in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) were scheduled for today, a month after the AAP ended BJP's 15-year rule in the civic body.

AAP had won 134 wards in the MCD polls, while BJP won 104 wards and Congress won nine in the 25-member body.

High pitched ruckus was seen in the Civic Centre as the presiding officer invited alderman Manoj Kumar to take oath first. AAP and BJP councillors raised slogans inside the house. The presiding officer, MCD commissioner and other officials left the house after the ruckus in the house.

BJP MPs Dr Harsh Vardhan and Gautam Gambhir along with Pravesh Verma and Ramvir Singh Bidhuri were present during the proceedings of the house.

Earlier MCD commissioner Gyanesh Bharti addressed the house and declared Satya Sharma as the presiding officer.

Aam Aadmi Party, which won the MCD polls, with 134 seats has fielded two candidates- Shelly Oberoi along with Ashu Thakur, while Rekha Gupta, a three-term councillor from Shalimar Bagh, is the BJP's nominee for the mayor poll.

On Congress's decision to walk out during the voting, Aam Aadmi Party leader and spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj said, "The walkout of congress during the voting is directly benefiting the BJP, especially in the Standing Committee elections."

Along with this, 7 Lok Sabha MPs of Delhi, 3 Rajya Sabha MPs and 14 MLAs among the nominated people, who have been made on the consent of the Speaker of the Delhi Legislative Assembly, will also take part in the voting.

The AAP has named Aaley Mohammad Iqbal and Jalaj Kumar as the contenders for the deputy mayor's post, who have been pitted against Ram Nagar councillor Kamal Bagri.

The AAP, which ended the 15-year-long reign of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the MCD polls held on December 4, has cried foul play over Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena's decision to appoint BJP councillor Satya Sharma as the presiding officer of MCD and 10 aldermen to the civic body.

As the House was adjourned over the ruckus, the LG House issued a clarification and said that any attempts to deviate from the decision or create confusion regarding it by the Aam Aadmi Party is nothing but its characteristic politics of deceit, blatant lies and deliberate attempts at misleading.

Along with the post of mayor and deputy mayor, the standing committee members will also be elected.

Seven candidates are in the fray for 6 posts on the Standing Committee. Aam Aadmi Party has fielded Amil Malik, Raminder Kaur, Mohini Jeenwal and Sarika Chowdhary while BJP has Kamaljeet Sehrawat, Gajendra Daral and Pankaj Luthra as its candidates for the Standing Committee.

( With inputs from ANI )