Standing committee vacancies in MCD to be filled on May 22 | Delhi News – Times of India

New Delhi: Municipal Corporation of Delhi has decided to elect the chairman and the deputy chairman for each of its 12 ward committees on May 22. The mayor will appoint the presiding officer for each of the 12 zones.“As per Section 51 read with Section 47 of Delhi Municipal Act, the ward committee shall at its first meeting each year elect one of its members (who is a councillor) as chairman and another member as deputy chairman. The election will be held in accordance with the procedure laid down in DMC Act,” stated an MCD notification issued on Friday. While the nomination paper can be filed till May 16, the contestants can withdraw them till the commencement of the election proceedings, it added. The guidelines for the election include all points implemented in the mayoral election, including not carrying phones inside the meeting halls. On May 22, the elections will also be conducted to fill two vacant standing committee positions from South and City Sadar-Paharganj wards. These seats were vacated after AAP councillors Purandeep Sawhney from Chandni Chowk and Prem Chauhan from Ambedkar Nagar won in the Feb assembly election. Another vacant position will be filled on May 21 during a house meeting. The seat in the 18-member standing committee became vacant after Mundka councillor Gajendra Daral won the assembly election.Out of the 15 elected members in the committee, BJP now has nine and AAP six members. Once all 18 positions are occupied, MCD will table a notification regarding the panel’s formation, possibly on May 26, during a house meeting. Subsequently, a timetable for selecting the standing committee chairperson will be announced, with the electionexpected in the first week of June.This election will be a test for BJP after winning the mayoral and deputy mayoral elections. BJP, with 117 out of the 238 councillors, has the majority in the house, but if AAP and Congress join forces, BJP could face difficulties as their combined numbers reach 121 in the 250-member MCD. Unlike the mayoral and deputy mayoral elections, the selected MLAs and the MPs don’t vote in theward committee elections, and only councillors have the right to vote here. In the ward committee elections, 10 aldermen nominated by lieutenant governor will participate.So far, BJP has a majority in seven out of the 12 ward committees and AAP in five.