New Delhi, August 30: Candidates from the AAP, BJP, and Congress on Friday filed their nominations for the zonal level ward committee elections with the Municipal Secretary. The ruling Aam Aadmi Party has fielded 33 candidates in 11 of the 12 zones, barring Keshav Puram zone. Prem Chauhan and Tilotma Chaudhary, two of the more prominent faces from the party, had approached the Delhi High Court on Thursday seeking re-scheduling of the election dates.

Chauhan has filed his nomination for standing committee member from South Delhi zone, while Chaudhary has been fielded from Najafgharh Zone for the post of deputy chairman of the ward committee. Former DCW member and AAP councillor Promila Gupta is also in the fray for standing committee member from the Civil Lines zone. Punardeep Singh Sabby, son of AAP MLA Parlad Singh Sawhney, has been nominated for standing committee member from the City SP zone. MCD Ward Committee Elections 2024: AAP Councillors Ask Commissioner Ashwani Kumar, Mayor Shelly Oberoi to Reschedule Ward Polls; Move Delhi High Court.

The opposition BJP has fielded 30 candidates in 10 of the 12 zones for the post of chairman, deputy chairman, and standing committee member. They have not fielded candidate from two zones -- City SP Zone and Karol Bagh. Leader of Opposition Raja Iqbal Singh is contesting for the post of standing committee member from the Civil Lines Zone. He was a former Mayor of North Delhi before the municipality's unification in 2022.

The BJP has also fielded Pawan Shehrawat and Sugandha, the councillors who recently switched sides from the AAP, for post of chairman for the ward committee from Narela and Central Zone. Former East Delhi Mayor Neema Bhagat is contesting the polls for the post of standing committee member from Shahdara South Zone. The Congress, which has only nine councillors in the MCD, has fielded candidates from Shahdara South Zone. Haji Zarif has been nominated for the post of zonal chairman, Nazia Khatoon for zonal deputy chairman, and Sabeela Khatoon for standing committee member.

The 12 zones of MCD will go to polls on September 4 for formation of the ward committees. The nomination filing ended on Thursday. The election is for the posts of a chairman, deputy chairman for each of the ward committees in all zones and 12 members for the standing committee, one from each the zones. The remaining six members of the 18-member standing committee are elected by the MCD House. MCD Ward Committee Election to Be Held on September 4.

The ward committee elections are essential for formation of the standing committee -- MCD's highest decision making body and its purse string which accords approval to proposals involving an expenditure of Rs 5 crore and above. After this election, the MCD will announce dates for polls for standing committee. On Thursday, Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi had directed the MCD Commissioner Ashwani Kumar to extend the nomination filing deadline for the ward committee elections.

In their letters to Oberoi and Commissioner Kumar, AAP councillors Tilotma Choudhary and Prem Chauhan had also sought the rescheduling of ward committee elections, saying they were not given sufficient time to file their nominations. The ruling party's councillors had filed a petition in the high court seeking directions for the rescheduling of elections. However, they had to withdraw their plea after the court indicated it was not inclined to grant any such relief.

Responding to the development, Delhi BJP Chief Virendra Sachdeva said the court's decision was a "first slap" on the face of the AAP. "Democray has given its first slap on the face of Aam Aadmi Party as they (the councillors) had to withdraw the petition seeking postponement of MCD ward committees elections after the High Court refused to allow any immediate relief. "We hope MCD ward committees election will now take place on time on September 4 and Arvind Kejriwal will not create any further hurdles," he said. The standing committee elections have been long pending because of the political deadlock between the ruling AAP and opposition BJP.

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