NEW DELHI, May 21 -- The mayoral elections in Delhi remain in a state of limbo, even though Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, whose signature is needed for holding the elections, has been out on interim bail for nearly 11 days.

Sources at the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) indicated that the file seeking Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena's approval for the appointment of the presiding officer has yet to leave the municipal secretary's office.

A fresh request will have to be sent to the Raj Niwas, which will pass through the Delhi chief secretary and the urban development department before reaching Chief Minister Kejriwal for appointing the presiding officer to hold the mayoral polls.

"So far no new request from the existing mayor's office has been received to seek the LG's approval for conducting the Delhi mayoral elections. A fresh file for appointing the presiding officer will have to be moved from the MCD to the LG office," the sources said.

The MCD postponed the mayoral polls in April citing non-appointment of presiding officer by the LG.

Saxena had refused to appoint a presiding officer in "the absence of inputs from the chief minister" who was in jail in connection with the excise policy-linked money laundering case.

The Supreme Court on May 9 provided a conditional 21-day interim bail to Kejriwal to campaign for the Lok Sabha elections.

He has to surrender to the jail authorities on June 2, a day after the seven-phase polling will be over.

As per the conditions of his bail, the Chief Minister must seek the Lt Governor's approval to sign any official documents in case of urgency during the interim bail period. Additionally, he is prohibited from visiting his office or the Delhi Secretariat.

The mayoral elections were categorised as "urgent business" by the AAP-led MCD in the agenda circulated for the House meeting, during which the polling was scheduled to take place.

"The LG office has not received any new request from the chief minister's office regarding the MCD mayoral elections," the Raj Niwas sources said. With agency inputs

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.