The Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s legal department has reportedly cleared the way for a sixth mayoral election during the current five-year civic term, according to a report by Jagran. The decision could allow the election of a mayor and deputy mayor in April 2027 and subsequently open the way for elections to ward committees, the standing committee and other municipal panels.
The report says the legal opinion was sought because the corporation faced an unusual constitutional and administrative question. The current five-year term began after the unified MCD’s December 2022 election, but the first House meeting could not be completed on three occasions because of disruptions. The first functioning meeting was held on 23 February 2023, when Shelly Oberoi was elected mayor.
Under the arrangement described in the report, the corporation has held five mayoral elections by April 2026. The legal department has now reportedly concluded that another mayoral election can be held in the following year, even though there has been no resignation by a mayor to create a vacancy. The report attributes the clearance to sources familiar with the matter; the underlying legal opinion has not been provided in the supplied material.
The eligibility position could also broaden the field of candidates. Jagran reports that the next election would be conducted under the non-reserved category, allowing any councillor to file a nomination, including women councillors, men and councillors from the Scheduled Castes. The report links this interpretation to Section 35(1) of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act.
The provision, as described in the report, reserves the mayoral post for a woman councillor in the first year of the five-year term and for a Scheduled Caste councillor in the third year. Since the reservation applies to those specified years, the report says councillors from either reserved or general categories may contest in the other years.
The timing of the mayoral election matters because the mayor’s office is connected to the functioning of the corporation’s committee system. Once the mayor and deputy mayor are elected, the MCD could proceed with ward committee and standing committee elections. These committees are important parts of the corporation’s internal decision-making structure, although the supplied report does not provide a new schedule for those polls.
Jagran also reports that the MCD’s next general election could take place between December 2027 and January 2028, while the corporation’s current term is expected to continue until February 2028. The report says the present mayor may be given another opportunity because the next year is expected to involve election-related administrative pressures and a new office-holder could require time to understand the corporation’s functioning.
However, the supplied material contains conflicting references to the election timeline. Its summary and associated metadata refer to an election in April 2026, while the full report states that the fifth mayoral election took place in April 2026 and that the sixth election is expected in April 2027. The date of the sixth election and the legal department’s precise written reasoning therefore require confirmation from the MCD or its legal department before the schedule can be treated as final.
