AAP’s Shelly Oberoi elected Delhi Mayor
Former Delhi University professor joined party as activist in 2013
New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party candidate Shelly Oberoi has been elected as the new mayor of Delhi after having secured 150 votes on Wednesday.
“I assure you all that I will run this House in a constitutional manner. I expect you all will maintain the dignity of the House and cooperate in its smooth functioning,” Shelly Oberoi, a former Delhi University professor, said as soon as she was elected as the mayor.
The BJP received 116 votes in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) polls to elect Delhi’s mayor as the previous three attempts - on January 6, January 24 and February 6, failed to elect the mayor.
The voting which started at around 11.30 am went on for more than 2 hours.
A total of 10 nominated MPs, 14 nominated MLAs and 241 elected councillors out of 250 voted in the mayoral election.
“Many congratulations to all the workers on becoming the Mayor of Aam Aadmi Party in Municipal Corporation of Delhi and once again whole hearted gratitude to the people of Delhi. Many many congratulations to the first Mayor @OberoiShelly of AAP,” Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia tweeted.
The polling began with the MPs and MLAs casting their votes, followed by voting by the elected Councillors. The nominated MLAs of both parties also cast their votes, among whom 13 were from the AAP and 1 from BJP.
AAP MLA Akhilesh Pati Tripathi also cast his vote. In the last election, the presiding officer had barred Akhilesh Pati Tripathi and Sanjeev Jha from voting on the grounds that both of them were accused of corruption.
The election was due after Aam Aadmi Party won the MCD elections in December last year.
The last three attempts to elect the Mayor failed due to the political bickering between the Aam Aadmi Party and Bharatiya Janata Party. The civic centre met for the first time on January 6, second on January 24 and last on February 6.
Dr Shelly Oberoi: From DU prof to MCD mayor
When Dr Shelly Oberoi joined Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as an activist in 2013, little did she know that one day she would be heading the Municipal Corporation of Delhi as the Mayor.
Besides earning the distinction of being a lifetime member of the Indian Commerce Association (ICA), Shelly has several awards and accolades to her credit.
Before embarking on a political journey, Oberoi completed her Phd in management studies from IGNOU’s School of Management Studies. Along with Delhi University, she had also taught at several other universities like NMIMS, IP and IGNOU.
Upon joining AAP as an activist, Shelly went on to become the party’s state Mahila Morcha vice-president and continued till 2020.
A councillor from ward No. 86 of Patel Nagar constituency, Shelly was named mayoral candidate weeks after the AAP secured the majority in the MCD election.
In her first speech in the MCD House, Oberoi said, “All of you have elected me as the Mayor of Delhi. The people of the national capital have dreamt of making Delhi clean and beautiful, we all have to work together for this. We will run the House as per the Constitution and the DMC Act.”
Making Shelly’s victory more interesting is the fact that she has emerged victorious from a place where BJP turf has a stronghold.
A former visiting assistant professor at Delhi University and a first-time councillor, 39-year-old Oberoi contested the elections from former Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta’s home turf of East Patel Nagar and defeated her rival Deepali Kumari by 269 votes.
After being named for the post of mayor, she had said that her priorities will be fulfilling the 10 guarantees promised by the CM and working together with all councillors to shake off the city’s ‘garbage capital’ tag.
Oberoi has become the first mayor of the reunified MCD. Oberoi will now preside over the rest of the polls, including that of the deputy mayor and six members of the powerful standing committee.
(IANS)