New Delhi: The Supreme Court has sealed the right of the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi according to which the Lieutenant Governor can appoint aldermen without the help and advice of the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party government of Delhi. After this green signal from the Supreme Court, it has become BJP vs Aam Aadmi Party directly. But who are the aldermen and what can be their role in changing the picture of MCD, let us understand whether these changes are AAP vs BJP…
What does Alderman mean? What kind of powers do they have that give them ‘power’?
As the name suggests, alderman means an elderly person. According to Section 1957 of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Rules, the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi can nominate 10 people in the MCD, but their age should be more than 25 years. Traditionally, aldermen are those people who have rendered long and special services in the municipal body and have helped the House in taking decisions of public importance. As per the rules, aldermen cannot vote in the election of the Mayor. But, they can vote in the zonal committees. For the election of the most powerful standing committee in the Delhi Municipal Corporation, members are selected from the zonal committees only. Therefore, there are many speculations about their appointment and possibilities of change in power equations are being expressed.
The battle between AAP and BJP begins with the Supreme Court’s decision
The direct impact of the court’s decision is that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will run the MCD but the BJP will have control over its treasury i.e. finances. AAP is looking at this as a way to maintain influence and control over the MCD despite BJP losing the elections.
Elections for ward committees will be held first in the 12 zones of the MCD. All elected councillors are part of the ward committee and they will vote to elect a chairman, a vice-chairman and a standing committee member. Each ward committee will elect one member, who will fill 12 of the 18 seats of the standing committee. Aldermen will also cast their votes to elect a standing committee member in their respective zones. Then all the members of the House will vote for the remaining six members.
This is where the game seems to be at play… LG’s distribution of aldermen is also a strategic initiative. Four aldermen each were nominated for Narela and Civil Lines zones and two for Central zone. In Narela zone which has 16 elected councillors (five from BJP, 10 from AAP and one independent) while four nominated aldermen with the support of an independent councillor are seen to create a tie in the standing committee elections. In Civil Lines zone, which has six BJP and nine AAP councillors, the addition of four aldermen gives BJP an advantage of one vote. In Central zone, which has 10 BJP, 13 AAP and two Congress councillors, the nomination of two aldermen may help BJP overtake AAP with the possible support of Congress councillors. Other wards with BJP influence include Keshavpuram, Najafgarh and Shahdara South, while AAP has a clear cut majority in Rohini, City SP, Karol Bagh, West and South zones.
However, in Central and Narela zones, AAP is ahead by just one vote. In such a situation, the role of the independent councillor in Narela and two Congress councillors in Central will be crucial. At the same time, the Times of India report quoting the Municipal Corporation Secretary’s office says that some councillors have allegedly changed parties, but no official information has been received from their leaders or parties.
Tags: Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi LG, Delhi MCD, Delhi News
FIRST PUBLISHED : August 6, 2024, 11:11 IST
