AAP's Shelly Oberoi is new Delhi mayor
What's the story
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Shelly Oberoi has been elected as the new mayor of Delhi on Wednesday. The election had previously been called off three times due to a stalemate between the AAP and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Reportedly, 10 nominated MPs, 14 nominated MLAs, and 241 elected councilors voted in the election to elect the woman mayor.
Context
Why does this story matter?
The AAP-BJP feud dominated the Delhi mayoral elections shortly after the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections concluded in December with AAP's victory. Bickering ensued between the two parties after Lieutenant-Governor (L-G) VK Saxena named 10 aldermen for voting without consulting the Delhi government. However, the elections were held on Wednesday after Supreme Court overturned Saxena's order.
Twitter Post
Visuals of AAP celebrating the win
#WATCH | Aam Aadmi Party's Shelly Oberoi elected as the new mayor of Delhi. pic.twitter.com/wAd8WNUFwx
— ANI (@ANI) February 22, 2023
Voting
Oberoi gets 150 votes; BJP's Rekha Gupta 116
According to reports, the mayoral elections went on peacefully following Supreme Court directions, and AAP candidate Shelly Oberoi was declared the winner after nearly two hours of the voting process. Oberoi defeated BJP candidate Rekha Gupta after securing 150 votes while Gupta got 116 votes.
Twitter Post
People win, hooligans lost: Manish Sisodia
गुंडे हार गये, जनता जीत गयी.
— Manish Sisodia (@msisodia) February 22, 2023
दिल्ली नगर निगम में आम आदमी पार्टी का मेयर बनने पर सभी कार्यकर्ताओं को बहुत बधाई और दिल्ली की जनता का तहे दिल से एक बार फिर से आभार.
AAP की पहली मेयर @OberoiShelly को भी बहुत बहुत बधाई.
Halt
Elections marred with AAP-BJP feud
The MCD House convened to elect the Delhi mayor on January 6, January 24, and February 6, but it was adjourned following scuffles between AAP and BJP councilors. It was scheduled for the fourth time on February 16 but was postponed due to a Supreme Court hearing on a petition filed by AAP candidate Oberoi seeking an early mayoral election for MCD.
Supreme Court
How did SC's intervention help?
On February 17, the SC bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud said the election of the new mayor must be done at the first MCD meeting. Once elected, the mayor will oversee the deputy mayor's election, it said. Notably, the court also ordered that the nominated aldermen be barred from voting in this election.
About
Who is Shelly Oberoi?
Oberoi, a councilor from East Patel Nagar, was a visiting professor at Delhi University (DU) and is a lifetime member of the Indian Commerce Association (ICA). She did her Ph.D. at Indira Gandhi National Open University's (IGNOU) School of Management Studies and has won several awards. Notably, AAP had filed AAP MLA Shoaib Iqbal's son, Aaley Mohammed, for the deputy mayor's post.