MCD Elections May Be Deferred By 2 Years: Sources

New Delhi, March 30: Political rivals in the national capitals have launched their respective campaigns in various corners but the question remains on the finalisation on the dates for the Municipal Corporation election. It was anticipated that the local body elections would take place post the assembly elections, however, the Election Commission is yet to announce its decision.

According to multiple sources, the Delhi Municipal Elections are unlikely to take place this year as the AAP led-Kejriwal government is planning to move to court against the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022 which aims to unify three existing municipal corporations into one. The Bill has been tabled in the Lok Sabha wherein the Union Home Minister Amit Shah reasoned that currently the three municipal corporations or MCDs are not well equipped with sufficient resources to discharge their responsibilities.

Shah has alleged that the Kejriwal-led state government has rather meted out a step-motherly behaviour towards the three MCD bodies. There are three MCD branches, namely North Delhi Municipal Corporation and South Delhi Municipal Corporation each contain 104 municipal wards, and East Delhi Municipal Corporation which has 64 wards.

On the merger of the three MCDs, Kejriwal said that after reading the details of the new Bill, the Delhi government may challenge the Bill in the High Court against it. If so, sources have told Hans India, that till the matter is resolved, the Election Commission will not announce any dates. It has also been told that the MCD elections will be held either post Gujarat Assembly elections or upto two years.

Bharatiya Janata Party has won three MCD elections in the capital consecutively, however, an anti-incumbency wave maybe on the rise. Political rivals, Aam Aadmi Party and BJP, are actively engaging in public campaigning for the MCD elections. The MCD polls will now depend on the new DMC Act in case the Bill receives a nod in the Parliament. The Election Commission, too, has deferred on its decision to announce a date on the local elections.

While Congress promotional activities are low key, all three major political players are promoting themselves, through banners, posters, and loudspeakers mounted atop of autorickshaw. None of the parties have released an official list of their candidates for the MCD elections.