Nomination filing process begins for MCD polls in Delhi

New Delhi: The process of filing nominations for the upcoming civic polls in Delhi began on Monday.

Polling for the municipal elections in Delhi will be held on December 4 and the votes will be counted on December 7, State Election Commissioner (SEC) Vijay Dev had announced on Friday.

"Filing of nominations will begin from November 7, and the last date for the same is November 14," Dev had said at a press conference here, setting the stage for the high-stakes civic polls largely seen as a three-way contest.

Scrutiny of nominations will be done on November 16, while the last date for withdrawal of candidature is November 19.

This will be the first civic election after the fresh delimitation exercise, and the much-awaited poll covering 250 wards will be held in the gap between the two phases of the Gujarat assembly elections, which will take place on December 1 and 5.

Candidates can submit their nominations between 11 am and 3 pm, SEC officials had earlier said.

Soon after the announcement of the date, both the BJP and AAP had exuded confidence that they would emerge victorious. The Delhi Congress asserted that it has been preparing the ground work for the MCD elections for the last one year.

The Model Code of Conduct (MCC) came into force in the national capital from Friday itself.

More than 1.2 lakh posters, banners, hoardings and other such material have been removed in Delhi since the model code of conduct kicked in, according to data shared by authorities on Sunday.