Tussle over Delhi mayor post: AAP protests outside BJP headquarters

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) staged a protest near the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters in Delhi on Tuesday, a day after the Speaker of the Delhi Municipal Assembly announced that LG-nominated members would be allowed to vote in the mayoralty. elections.

Several AAP leaders and workers carrying banners gathered on Rouse Avenue and raised anti-BJP slogans. Security around the BJP headquarters has been beefed up with a heavy police presence in the area and several barricades erected on Rouse Avenue.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) House failed to elect a mayor even at the third attempt following an uproar on Monday after presiding officer Satya Sharma said councilors nominated by the lieutenant governor (LG) would vote in the election. The AAP said it would move the Supreme Court so that mayoral elections could be held in a "judicially monitored manner".

The first two sessions of the MCD House - held on January 6 and January 24 - were adjourned by the Speaker following ruckus and heated exchanges between BJP and AAP members. According to the Delhi Municipal Corporation (DMC) Act, 1957, the Mayor and Deputy Mayor are to be elected in the very first session of the House after the civic polls. However, two months have passed since the December 4 municipal elections and Delhi is yet to get a mayor.