"Clear Lt Governor, BJP Together": Arvind Kejriwal After Supreme Court Win

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday welcomed the Supreme Court judgment on the election of a mayor, saying it "proved" that Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena and the BJP were partners in passing "illegal and unconstitutional" orders.

"Supreme Court order is a victory of democracy. Many thanks to Supreme Court. Delhi will now get a mayor after two-and-a-half months. It's clear now that the LG (Lieutenant Governor) and BJP together are passing illegal and unconstitutional orders in Delhi," he tweeted in Hindi.

AAP MP Raghav Chaddha echoed his sentiment.

Delhi has won!

The Lt Gov should profusely apologise to the people of Delhi & resign with immediate effect. His actions and orders have violated the constitution repeatedly.

BJP, which tried every dirty trick in the book to deny Delhi a Mayor stands thoroughly defeated today

— Raghav Chadha (@raghav_chadha) February 17, 2023

In a major takedown of the Lt Governor, the Supreme Court on Friday cancelled his orders on the election of a mayor for the city, which favoured the BJP.

The members of Delhi's civic body appointed by Mr Saxena, a representative of the BJP-led government at the centre, cannot vote in the election to choose a mayor, the top court said. A deputy mayor can only be elected after the mayor's election, it added.

The mayor election had been postponed thrice in over two months after Mr Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), alleged the BJP tried to capture the civic body by electing a BJP leader to the mayor's post.

The AAP had won far more seats than the BJP in the December election to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, or MCD, ending the opposition party's 15-year rule in the civic body.

The council members, or aldermen, appointed by the Lieutenant Governor had tried to vote in the last election, triggering protests by AAP members and chaos in the house. The election was eventually postponed again. The aldermen would have added to the BJP's numbers, AAP had alleged.