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The stage is set for MCD polls

Sujay Mehdudia

New delimitation report sent to L-G

NEW DELHI: Virtually ending speculations over whether civic elections in the Capital would be held on time, the decks have been cleared for holding -- in due process -- polls for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) scheduled for this coming February. The State Election Commission has sent to Lieutenant-Governor B.L. Joshi the fresh report of the Delimitation Committee that has redrawn the boundaries of the municipal wards for issuing of a draft notification. Highly placed sources say the file pertaining to the report of the Delimitation Committee has been sent to Mr. Joshi for approval after which a notification would be issued giving details of the new wards and demarcated boundaries. The effort of the Delimitation Committee has been to divide each of the wards having on an average one lakh voters with a plus-minus margin of 10 per cent. Out of a total of 134 wards, 23 seats have been reserved for the Scheduled Castes, 37 wards for women from the general category and eight for women from the reserved category taking the total of number of seats for women to 45.

The report has put the total number of voters existing in Delhi on date at 99.4 lakhs, which is likely to go up with a revision of rolls in the offing next month.

Of the 99.4-lakh voters presently enrolled on the electoral rolls, 64 lakh voters have Election Photo Identity Cards (EPIC). A special campaign is also being launched soon to cover the rest of the voters, arming them with EPIC.

A total of 33 per cent seats have been reserved for women under the law, but the seats that would be contested by women are yet to be identified. Officials said that after Mr. Joshi clears the draft notification, a public notice would be issued inviting objections from the people at large.

The entire exercise of scrutinising the feedback from the people and issuing the final notification is likely to be over by December 10.

Political circles in the Capital have been rife with rumours that the MCD polls are likely to be postponed in view of the massive erosion of support in favour of the Congress party due to the ongoing sealing and demolitions in the Capital and the strong resentment prevailing on the issue. One section of the Congress party is of the strong view that MCD polls should be postponed or the Congress will face a rout as the ground realities were very different and the people of Delhi were very unhappy with Congress-ruled MCD and the Delhi Government.

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