Shelly Oberoi, a member of the Aam Aadmi Party, was re-elected as the mayor of Delhi on Wednesday. Her rival, Shikha Rai of the Bharatiya Janata Party, withdrew her nomination, resulting in Oberoi’s uncontested win. The BJP said it withdrew its nomination because the AAP refused to allow the formation of standing committee and ward committees. Deputy Mayor Aaley Mohammad Iqbal also got another term as Soni Pal, the BJP candidate, withdrew her nomination. The AAP claimed that both Rai and Pal withdrew their nominations just before voting because they feared defeat.
During the House proceedings, Rai said she withdrew her nomination because the election to the standing committee had not been conducted. Once Oberoi became mayor, some members of the House raised slogans. Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal congratulated Oberoi and Iqbal on Twitter and urged them to work hard to meet people’s expectations.
After the proceedings, Durgesh Pathak, an AAP MLA and the party’s in-charge of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, claimed that the BJP surrendered to the AAP by not contesting the mayor or deputy mayor elections. He also alleged that there was a possibility that many BJP councillors, who believe in democracy and are against hooliganism, could vote in favour of the AAP.
