MCD ward committee election commences amid heavy security deployment

New Delhi: The Municipal Corporation of Delhi ward committee polls commenced at the agency headquarters here on Wednesday amid heavy security deployment.

The long pending elections are being held for the first time after the unification of the MCD in 2022. Due to the political deadlock between the ruling AAP and the opposition BJP, the polls could not take place and the matter became subjudice.

Anticipating a face-off between the two parties, the police have beefed up security arrangements in and around the Civic Centre located in Central Delhi.

A company of paramilitary personnel along with local police has been deployed at the spot.

In this poll, councillors will vote to elect a chairman and deputy chairman for 10 of the 12 zonal-level ward committees, and one member each for the standing committee, MCD's highest decision-making body.

Polls for the formation of the ward committees in two zones -- City SP and Keshav Puram -- will not take place as the BJP and the AAP did not make nominations.

The voting will be done in two clusters of all the MCD zones held simultaneously with councillors of five zones casting their votes together while the remaining zones will go to polls separately.

MCD zones namely Rohini, Najafgarh, West, South, and Central will vote between 10 am and 4 pm on the first floor of the agency headquarters in Hansraj Gupta Auditorium.

The remaining five zones -- Karol Bagh, Shahdara South, Shahdara North, Civil Lines, and Narela -- will vote at the same time in Satya Narayan Bansal Auditorium on the second floor.

The election will be held through secret ballot in accordance with the Delhi Municipal Corporation Regulations, 1958.

Councillors of both parties hoped for a smooth election.

"We have full faith that the election will be conducted peacefully and the ward committee will be formed," said BJP Councillor Yogesh Verma.

Some also expressed apprehensions about the poll results.

"I don't know what's going to happen. These BJP people can do anything. The LG is constantly troubling us; what can we do? We are helpless. They have put the Chief Minister in jail...," Amrit Jain, AAP Councillor from Budh Vihar said.