MPs, councillors cast vote in Delhi mayoral election

Voting to elect a new Delhi mayor has begun as the municipal house convenes after three previous failed attempts to hold elections to the top post.

BJP MPs Meenakshi Lekhi and Hans Raj Hans were among the first to cast their votes.

House proceedings began on Wednesday to elect a new Delhi mayor, an exercise held long after the high-stakes civic polls.

The mayoral election is being held on the basis of the order of the Supreme Court after three failed earlier attempts to hold the election.

Elections for the positions of mayor, deputy mayor and six members of the standing committee are being held at the town hall, which started half an hour late at around 11:30. Pro-tem presiding officer Satya Sharma said, "I appeal to all to maintain order in the House." Last week, Delhi Governor VK Saxena gave his nod to the convening of the municipal hall to hold mayoral elections on the Supreme Court order.

The Supreme Court on February 17 ordered the civic body to issue a notice for convening the first meeting of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) within 24 hours to fix the date for the election of mayor, deputy mayor and members of the standing committee. The court passed the order after hearing a plea filed by the ruling Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) mayoral candidate Shelly Oberoi seeking an early election.

The AAP emerged as the clear winner in the MCD polls on December 4, winning 134 wards and ending the BJP's 15-year rule in the civic body. The BJP won 104 constituencies and finished second, while the Congress won nine seats in the 250-member municipal house.