NEW DELHI: Delhi may finally get a mayor this Wednesday, jumpstarting the much-delayed functioning of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi after the election results were announced on December 7, giving the Aam Aadmi Party a clear majority.

Lieutenant governor V K Saxena on Saturday cleared convening of the corporation house on February 22 for election of the mayor after the Supreme Court on Friday ruled that nominated members cannot vote in the election for mayor and ordered the LG’s office to notify a schedule for the election within 24 hours.This fourth attempt to hold the mayoral elections will hopefully bring down the curtains on an ugly chapter in the corporation’s history that virtually grounded elected councillors for over two months and stalled municipal governance after an election that itself was delayed by many months.The SC has also ruled that the presiding officer can conduct only the mayor’s poll and not that of the deputy mayor and the standing committee members.A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala had discarded the arguments of MCD and the LG advocating voting rights for nominated members in the mayoral elections.“As recommended by the chief minister, GNCTD, I approve the proposal to convene the adjourned first meeting of MCD on Wednesday (February 22) at Civic Centre for election of mayor, deputy mayor and six members to the standing committee,” said the notice issued by the LG.The LG’s nod came hours after CM Arvind Kejriwal recommended that the mayoral election be held on February 22.Reacting to the development, AAP MLA Durgesh Pathak said that the party abides by the Constitution and will do whatever is required to be done on the first day of the sitting under the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act.

“We welcome the Supreme Court’s decision and will complete the election of all posts, including that of standing committee members.

We are confident of winning all the posts,” he said.Though the SC decision has been a setback for the party, Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said while the decision was welcome, he hoped that AAP would allow the three polls to take place.

“We have some information that AAP will disrupt the proceedings of the house after the mayor’s election.

Fearing defeat, they do not want to allow the standing committee to be formed,” Kapoor alleged.

“If AAP respects the Supreme Court, then the chief minister should give an assurance that his party will allow the formation of the standing committee on February 22.”“The newly elected mayor will preside over the election of six standing committee members and then announce the constitution of 12 zonal committees.

The chief minister should commit to aldermen being allowed to vote in the zonal committees like in MCD’s 2017-22 term."Meanwhile, MCD has begun its preparations for the mayor’s election and issued a notice to all elected councillors, MPs and MLA representatives in order to meet the 72-hour notice norm.