Delhi MCD Mayor elections end in chaos as brawl ensues between members of AAP, BJP

The Capital's municipal corporation completed the long-delayed voting process in its fourth attempt on February 22, ending a nearly 12-week impasse. However, the House shelved civility hours later, as members beat each other up, threw bottles and slippers at one another, and some scampered for cover under tables to avoid projectiles. AAP councillor Shelly Oberoi was elected as the mayor of Delhi and the party's Aaley Mohammed Iqbal was elected as her deputy.

As the elected residents of Civic Centre refused to buck a gloomy pattern that has become familiar with the municipal corporation, the scenes on Wednesday evening were reminiscent of the three meetings that came before it.

The afternoon's elections marked the culmination of one phase of a story that began in March of last year, when the three civic bodies were united and the elections were postponed. After that, the AAP won the elections in December 2022, winning 134 of the 250 wards in Delhi. However, the Capital remained without a mayor for several weeks because three previous sessions at the Civic Centre had also ended in protests, fights, and violence.

However the decisions to pick Oberoi and Iqbal were smooth and serene, the fights and brutality started when councilors tried to pick six chosen individuals from the metro standing board later at night.

By 6 p.m., members of both parties had crowded into the House well and started fighting. The mayor, who had been elected speaker, claimed that she had been "attacked" by BJP members.

According to Supreme Court orders, BJP council members attempted to attack me while I was conducting Standing Committee elections! "This is the extent to which the BJP's Gundagardi is attempting to attack a female mayor," Oberoi tweeted around 10:30 p.m.

Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi's chief minister, tweeted that the alleged attack was "absolutely shocking and unacceptable."

During the standing committee elections, the mayor allowed cellphones inside the voting booth, which BJP members claimed was a violation of the secret ballot process. This caused contention over the chaos.

In addition, the House was scheduled to convene at 6.11 p.m. for the election of members of the standing committee, a crucial body that decides how the public body spends its money. However, no progress was made on this front until midnight, with at least six adjournments and unrestrained violence interrupting the House as councillors attempted to avoid footwear, water bottles, and other objects coming from all directions.

The recent brawl obscured important developments for Delhi's civic governance, which had been held hostage by previous disturbances in the Civic Center.

The centrally appointed special officer's control of the MCD ended with Oberoi's election. This control lasted until May of last year, when the Union government merged Delhi's three previous civic bodies and put off the elections that were about to take place.

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