BJP divided over MCD rotation

By Sujay Mehdudia

NEW DELHI, JULY 15.

The issue of putting an end to rotation of seats in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi has brought into the fore sharp differences within the Delhi BJP unit. While a majority of Councillors and senior leaders are for an end to the system, the local unit president, Mr. Mange Ram Garg, is understood to have opposed the move.

In fact, a majority of parties, including the Congress(I) and the Lok Janshakti Party, have supported the move to end the rotation system.

Interestingly, the Delhi Mayor, Mr. Shanti Desai, had initiated talks on behalf of his party following majority opinion among the Councillors that this system should be put to an end as it led to lack of accountability of elected representative. It is known to the Councillor that he would not be contesting again from the same seat and that is the reason no development worthwhile took place in his area. Out of the 134 seats in the Corporation, 126 fall under the rotation system.

The Chief Minister, Ms. Sheila Dikshit, had held discussions with Mr. Desai recently to arrive at a consensus.She had pressed home the point that the rotation system should be put to an end and the next MCD polls should be held under the new system. To freeze the rotation system, the nod of the Centre was not needed and a notification by the Municipal Commissioner was more than enough, it has been pointed out. Mr. Desai, it is understood, promised to get back to the Chief Minister on the issue after detailed consultations within the party.

It is believed the point was brought up for discussion among the senior BJP leaders recently and a majority backed the proposal. But Mr. Garg and his supporters are learnt to have opposed it and did not back the Mayor. His supporters pointed out that the exercise for splitting of the MCD had already been put in place and till a final decision is taken, no half-baked measures should be taken.

But many in the party believe that there was more to the eye than meets. His detractors pointed out that Mr. Garg was opposing the move as it would leave him with little leverage to manage the distribution of tickets in the MCD polls, scheduled for early next year. With the rotation system in place, the BJP party president would have a lot of room for maneuvering.

It is argued that if the rotation system is frozen, many sitting Councillors would get the party ticket for the second time and Mr. Garg would find it difficult to induct a large number of his supporters. Similarly, whatever people are presently backing Mr. Garg are doing so in the anticipation of a ticket. The day they realise that things were not working according to their plan, they would desert him.

Meanwhile, the Lok Janshakti Party vice-president, Mr. Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, said his party was all for putting an end to this system. Under the present system, the civic amenities had deteriorated as Councillors did not undertake developmental works, knowing fully well that they would not get elected a second time. It is an illogical thing and the sooner it is brought to an end, the better it would be for parties as well as the people.

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