Election for the post of mayor of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) will be held on April 26, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj said on Sunday.

Talking to a news agency, Bhardwaj, who is a nominated member of MCD, said, “It is necessary to conduct the election in April. Incumbent Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi has set April 26 as the date for this.”

Bhardwaj said. “I hope for the election to be held in a peaceful manner if all rules and regulations are followed by the LG Office.”

AAP leader Shelly Oberoi completed her 38-day tenure as a Delhi Mayor on March 31. As per the norms, the election process needs to be completed before April 30.

Bhardwaj, however, refrained from commenting about the name of the party candidate for the Mayor post.

“The matter regarding standing committee members’ election is pending in the court. I have no idea about the party’s candidate for the mayor post, and a final decision on the same will be taken by the party’s high command,” he added.

Bhardwaj also attacked Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena, and said, “It was very unfortunate that LG nominated a presiding officer for the mayoral election who created hurdles in smooth conduct of the poll.”

“They even tried to allow nominated members (aldermen) to vote against the constitution, for which the Supreme Court slammed them,” Bhardwaj further alleged.

“The court said that it was wrong. That’s why it would like to request that only the right person should be chosen to hold the mayoral election,” he said.

He also suggested that the deputy mayor can be made the pro-tem presiding officer, who can conduct the election of the mayor.

Earlier this year, Shelly Oberoi was elected mayor of Delhi in the fourth attempt after much wrangling between Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and AAP.

The last three attempts to elect the Mayor failed due to the political bickering between the Aam Aadmi Party and Bharatiya Janata Party. They met for the first time on January 6, second on January 24 and last on February 6.

The municipal elections in Delhi were held on December 4 last year and the results were announced on December 7. The Aam Aadmi Party won 134 seats out of 250.