Delhi Mayor Elections Failed for 3rd Attempt After Ruckus in House

The exercise to elect a new mayor of Delhi failed for the third time in a row after members of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party and the BJP caused a ruckus in the municipal House on Monday.

Proceedings in the House, which convened for the third time after the December 4 municipal polls, were disrupted as AAP members staged a huge protest over voting rights for aldermen.

The brouhaha erupted after Presiding Officer Satya Sharma announced that the members nominated by Delhi L-G VK Saxena will also be allowed to vote in the elections for mayor, deputy mayor and Standing Committee members. She had earlier announced that elections would be held simultaneously, a India Today report stated.

AAP councillors immediately raised an outcry. Party leader Mukesh Goel said aldermen can't vote. BJP leaders started raising slogans against the AAP.

Amid pandemonium, the House was adjourned until the next date and the mayoral elections were postponed yet again.

After the adjournment, AAP MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj accused Presiding Officer Satya Sharma of rigging the polls and said the party will have to approach the Supreme Court to ensure a fair election, the report stated.

The first two sessions -- held on January 6 and January 24 -- were adjourned by the presiding officer without electing a mayor following a ruckus and acrimonious exchanges between the members of the BJP and the AAP.

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