The State Election Commission in Delhi had been preparing for the Delhi Municipal Elections and had issued multiple notices, notifications, and orders indicating that the election was scheduled to take place in April 2022. On March 9, 2022, the
Delhi State Election Commission announced a press conference at 5 PM to release the schedule for the municipal elections planned for April. However, shortly after this announcement, the commission received an unofficial communication from the
Lieutenant Governor of Delhi,
Anil Baijal, indicating that the
Union Government intended to merge the three municipal bodies. This raises critical concerns about the transparency and timing of the communication, as it suggests potential political interference or a lack of coordination between the Union Government and the State Election Commission, undermining the autonomy of the electoral process.
Delimitation exercise The
Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022 proposed reducing the number of councillor seats from the existing 272 to a maximum of 250. A three-member delimitation committee was established on July 8, 2022, with a mandate to complete its work and submit a report within four months of its formation. The committee, led by State Election Commissioner Vijay Dev, was tasked with determining ward boundaries based on specific guidelines. The average ward size was set at approximately 65,000 people, with each assembly constituency divided into a minimum of three wards. While the principle of maintaining an average population per ward was emphasised, deviations of up to plus or minus 10% were deemed acceptable by the Union Government. The total population of the corporation, as per the 2011 census, was to be divided by the total number of wards to calculate the average population per ward. Additionally, the number of seats reserved for Scheduled Castes was required to reflect the proportion of the Scheduled Caste population to the total population of Delhi. To ensure accuracy, the delimitation commission utilised digitised maps provided by Geospatial Delhi Limited (GSDL).
Lawsuit to conduct the election The
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) filed a petition with the
Supreme Court, seeking directives for the State Election Commission to conduct a fair and timely election without interference from the Union Government. The plea, submitted by AAP leaders Ankush Narang and Manoj Kumar Tyagi, requested that the elections be held as per the State Election Commission's original schedule, ensuring they take place before the term of the municipal corporations concluded in May. A petition was filed in the Delhi High Court by Aam Aadmi Party MLA
Saurabh Bhardwaj, seeking a directive for the State Election Commission of Delhi to conduct the MCD elections using Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) equipped with Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) systems. His legal counsel argued that without VVPAT machines, verifying the accuracy of the EVMs was nearly impossible, and the possibility of tampering could not be ruled out. The petition stated, "There are no assembly elections scheduled anywhere in the country after March 7, 2022. Therefore, there should be no impediment in loaning the newer generation EVMs, which are compatible with VVPAT, to the State Election Commission of Delhi for conducting the 2022 MCD elections." The State Election Commission of Delhi stated that it relied on the Election Commission of India (ECI) for the supply of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). The ECI had provided M-2 EVMs, which do not support Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT), to the SEC. In court, the SEC of Delhi clarified that it had no objections to using EVMs with VVPAT if the ECI supplied them. The Election Commission of India (ECI) opposed the plea in court, stating that it could not provide EVMs equipped with VVPAT to the State Election Commission (SEC). The ECI argued that these machines were designated for elections under its supervision and could not be allocated to agencies outside its direct oversight. AAP argued in court that the EVMs procured by the State Election Commission (SEC) were not compatible with VVPAT and requested the disclosure of the total number of VVPAT-compatible machines available in India. In response, the High Court directed the SEC to clarify which of its procured EVMs were compatible with VVPAT. The court granted the SEC ten days to respond, with the next hearing scheduled for April 29. ==Schedule==