On Wednesday (February 22) night, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) house witnessed a high-voltage drama as several Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) councillors clashed amidst loud sloganeering. Several BJP and AAP members exchanged blows and hurled plastic bottles at each other.
The incident took place at around 11 pm on Wednesday night over the mode of election of the members of the standing committee. The BJP claimed that the council members were using their mobile phones to take pictures of the ballots while the voting was secret, which caused mayhem to break out during the election for the standing committee members on Wednesday. The BJP referred to it as a breach of the secret ballot and requested that the votes cast be discarded and fresh elections be held.
#WATCH | Delhi: Ruckus between BJP & AAP members inside the MCD house over the election of members of the standing committee. pic.twitter.com/alIZFIFFnr
— ANI (@ANI) February 22, 2023
“Because members earlier brought their mobile phones to the voting booth area with the mayor’s permission, we have been requesting that a new election be held. We later asked to start the process over after she denied it when we objected, but the mayor was adamant,” BJP councillor Shikha Rai alleged.
Mayor Shelly Oberoi alleged that the BJP councillors tried to attack her during the proceedings.
Earlier on Wednesday evening, several BJP Councillors chanted ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ and raised slogans of ‘Jai Sri Ram’ over the delay in the election of members to the Standing Committee of MCD.
#WATCH | Delhi: BJP Councillors chant ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ and raise slogans of ‘Jai Sri Ram’ over delay in the election of members to the Standing Committee of MCD.
— ANI (@ANI) February 22, 2023
Visuals from Municipal Corporation of Delhi Civic Center. pic.twitter.com/bzgAMmCExt
The House resumed early on Thursday morning and was adjourned for a fifth time. In the midst of the intense sloganeering and chaos, the House witnessed numerous disruptions when it first opened on Thursday morning. Council members began pushing each other and threw voting boxes into the well. The podium was also damaged during the clash.
#WATCH | Delhi: Ruckus and sloganeering continue at MCD house as AAP-BJP councillors clash with each other after the house proceedings resumed for the fourth time. The MCD house was again adjourned for the fifth time since last night. pic.twitter.com/O6MO2cOgs1
— ANI (@ANI) February 23, 2023
Amidst heavy sloganeering and protests, the proceedings were adjourned again for an hour.
#WATCH | Delhi: Proceedings of the MCD house adjourned again for an hour amid sloganeering in the house. pic.twitter.com/MkaRKfKAqL
— ANI (@ANI) February 23, 2023
AAP’s Shelly Oberoi became the Mayor of Delhi after defeating BJP’s Rekha Gupta. While Shelly Oberoi received 150 votes, BJP member Rekha Gupta could get 116 votes only. It is noteworthy that the Aam Aadmi Party won the most seats in the MCD elections conducted in Delhi in 2022. Out of total 250 seats, AAP alone won 134 wards. The Congress party could win only 9 wards, while the BJP had to be content with 104 seats.
