BJP leader Azad Singh is set to become the Mayor of North Delhi Municipal Corporation, elections for which will be held on Monday. Singh, the incumbent Deputy Mayor, will be elected unopposed as no other candidate is in the fray. The election of Singh, who belong to Mundka in Outer Delhi, aims at strengthening BJP’s hold in the rural areas in the upcoming Assembly polls.
Singh will succeed Mira Aggarwal, who became the first Mayor of the civic body post trifurcation last year. Another BJP leader Poornima Vidhyarthi will also be taking over as the next Deputy Mayor of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation.
Azad Singh, the younger brother of former Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma, has been chosen as the Mayor candidate by Delhi BJP president Vijay Goel, given his popularity he enjoys in the rural belt.
In another development, Standing Committee chairperson Yogendra Chandolia will be replaced by Ram Kishan Singhal and Mohan Bhardwaj will be his deputy. The election to these posts will be held on April 10. Singhal and Bharadwaj of the BJP and Mukesh Goel of the Congress, who have filed their nominations for the posts of members of the Standing Committee, are also set to be re-elected because of the absence of any other candidate. There are three vacancies for the post of members of the Standing Committee since the retirement of Goel, Surinder Kaur and Vijay Prakash Pandey.
East corporation Mayor Annapurna Mishra will be replaced by another Poorvanchal candidate - Ram Narain Dubey. Mahendra Ahuja will be his deputy. Standing Committee chairperson Mehak Singh will be replaced by Sanjay Surjan and Sanjay Kaushik will be his deputy.
The ruling BJP in the two corporation enjoys absolute majority while it faces some competition in the South Delhi Municipal Corporation where it would require support from the BSP and the independent councillors in the Mayor’s election. The South Delhi Municipal Corporation, too, will elect a new mayor and deputy mayor on April 16. The last date for filing nominations in the office of municipal secretary is April 9.
According to provisions under Sub-Section (1) of Section 35 of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957, the corporation shall, at its first meeting in each year, elect one of its members to be the Mayor and another member to be the Deputy Mayor.