The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) will hold elections for the posts of mayor and deputy mayor on April 25. The nominations will begin on April 15 with April 21 being the last date for filing nominations, according to an official source in the MCD.
According to a notice issued by the MCD Secretary’s Office on Friday, the MCD will hold its ordinary meeting for April 2025 on April 25, during which elections for the posts of mayor and deputy mayor will be conducted at 2 pm.
The term of current mayor Mahesh Kumar Khichi came to an end on March 31 following which was announced by the secretary’s office.
The AAP had won MCD elections in 2022 by ending 15 years of BJP’s rule and Shelly Oberoi became first mayor from the party. Khichi was elected mayor in November 2023. This is the fourth year of the Corporation.
Meanwhile, the BJP, which won a resounding victory in the assembly polls last month, is eyeing a “triple-engine government” in Delhi by securing the post of Mayor.With several AAP councillors defecting over the past few months, the BJP’s strength in the MCD has risen to 119.
Both MPs and MLAs nominated to the MCD are eligible to vote in the elections for the posts of mayor and deputy mayor.
Names of several BJP councillors, including Leader of Opposition Raja Iqbal Singh, Keshavpuram zonal committee chairman Yogesh Verma, and Shahdara south zonal committee member Sandeep Kapoor, are also being started as the potential mayoral candidates, party leaders said.
As per Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957, it is mandatory to hold elections every year to determine which party will continue to hold power. Section 35 of the Act mandates that the MCD elect a mayor at its first meeting of each fiscal year.
Although the mayor’s term is one year, the act stipulates that a party must elect a woman as mayor in the first year of its administration and a member of a Scheduled Caste from among its councillors in the second year. There are total 250 wards in the MCD out of which 12 are vacant. This includes 11 members (seven BJP and four AAP) who were elected as MLAs in the February 2025 Assembly elections and one member who became an MP in June 2024.
Since election for these vacant seats will he held only after mayoral polls, the current strength of the councillors will be 238.
In the 2022 MCD polls, AAP had won 134 wards, the BJP 104, the Congress nine and Independents three.
The BJP has advantage this time as they have 131 votes in their favour while the majority mark is 132 as per the current equations. The ruling AAP has only 122 votes and the party can reach 131 only if Congress extends support.
As far as the latest tally is concerned, there are 250 wards in the MCD out of which councillors from 238 will participate in the elections while 12 seats are vacant as councillors from these seats has won during previous Lok Sabha and State Assembly elections. Delhi Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta has nominated 14 MLAs for the MCD who will take part in the voting process.
As per the DMC Act, 7 Lok Sabha and 3 Rajya Sabha MPs will also vote for mayor and deputy mayor. With the appointments made by the Speaker, the BJP will have votes of 113 councillors, votes of 11 BJP MLAs, 7 Lok Sabha MPs from the party and possibility of AAP Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal’s vote in its favour as Anti-Defection Law is not in place in the Corporation.
The majority mark is 132 and the BJP will comfortably achieve the figure without cross voting in their favour.
For the AAP, it has 116 councillors’ vote, three nominated MLAs’ vote, vote of two Rajya Sabha MPs from its party and support of lone independent councillor. The total number in its favour is 122 and it is far behind the majority.
