Blows, Barbs and Half-Eaten Apples: AAP and BJP Spar Late Into the Night at MCD House

There were no fewer than eight adjournments in the proceedings to elect six standing committee members. Late at night, proceedings were adjourned until 10 am today.

New Delhi: Elections to give New Delhi a new mayor were followed by great drama at the Municipal Corporation of Delhi House late into the night of February 22, with members of the Bharatiya Janata Party and Aam Aadmi Party hitting each other and throwing plastic bottles, ballot boxes and half-eaten apples at each other, according to reports.

New mayor Shelly Oberoi, an Aam Aadmi Party councillor has alleged that BJP councillors tried to attack her while proceedings to hold the election to pick the six members of the Standing Committee of the MCD were on.

There were no fewer than eight adjournments in the proceedings, the news agency PTI has reported. Late at night, proceedings were adjourned until 10 am today and are likely to pick up now.

The scuffles broke out after Oberoi had adjourned proceedings at MCD house, triggering a quarrel between BJP and AAP representatives over how the MCD standing committee member polls were conducted. BJP alleged that Oberoi had allowed phones to be taken into the booth area.

BJP members of the MCD also alleged that they were hit by the projectiles flung by the AAP leaders.

According to PTI, among the seven candidates whose names were in the fray for standing committee posts were Aamil Malik of Sri Ram Colony ward, Raminder Kaur from Fateh Nagar ward, Mohini Jeenwal of Sundar Nagari ward and Sarika Chaudhary of Daryaganj ward. They were all AAP’s candidates.

Kamaljeet Sehrawat from Dwarka-B ward and Pankaj Luthra from Jhilmil ward were BJP’s candidates. Independent councillor Gajender Singh Daral, who later joined the BJP, was also a candidate.

The MCD’s standing committee is the topmost decision-making body.