The latest flashpoint between Delhi’s ruling Aam Aadmi Party and the Lieutenant Governor came to an abrupt halt late on Thursday evening as the election of a single Standing Committee member of the civic body, which VK Saxena was insisting on being held by 10 pm, was called off.  After an all-evening drama that included an eleventh-hour press conference by senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia, officials from Raj Bhavan said the election cannot not be held on Thursday. The fresh date is Friday at 1 pm. 

Pointing to the Lieutenant Governor’s message that the election has to be held by 10 pm, Mr Sisodia had told reporters, “How can elections be held without councillors? AAP and Congress councillors have gone home”. 

Then he added, “Elections on one hour’s notice is unconstitutional’.

Election for the seventh member of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s Standing Committee – scheduled for today — was deferred by Mayor Shelly Oberoi till October 5. Her move came after a row over security check of the councillors — who were not being allowed even to carry their cellphones inside. The mayor had called it “undemocratic” and “unconstitutional”. 

But Mr Saxena overturned it with an order that said the MCD Commissioner, Ashwini Kumar, is “directed to submit a report of conduct of elections of the sixth member of standing committee by 10 pm today”.

“In case the Mayor is unavailable or refuses to preside over the meeting. the Deputy Mayor may be requested to preside over the meeting for conduct of elections,” the order read. 

The Standing Committee of the MCD is responsible for taking most of its financial decisions. Currently it has three AAP and two BJP members. 

The appointment of a sixth member – pending for months – is expected to break the tie. With 12 members from zones already elected, it would take the tally to eight members for AAP and nine for the BJP in the 18-member Standing committee.

AAP has alleged that today’s order was the Lieutenant Governor’s tactic to tilt the balance of power towards the BJP.

In a statement, the BJP said it had asked the MCD Commissioner to hold the election as per law and directions of the Supreme Court. The party said it would file a contempt petition against the Mayor and Arvind Kejriwal tomorrow on Friday. 

This vacancy was created after BJP councillor Kamaljeet Sehrawat resigned following her election to the Lok Sabha from the West Delhi parliamentary seat earlier this year. 

America is increasingly divided on political lines as the 2024 Presidential election approaches. Though open and upfront divergence in political ideology is not uncommon among citizens, especially in democracies and near elections, another big divide has emerged in the run-up to the November polls – that of Corporate America.

Tech behemoths, banking giants, large corporations and even regional and small firms stand on either side of this political divide.

On November 5, citizens across the US will vote for their next president between Democrat candidate Kamala Harris and her Republican rival Donald Trump. The divide is straightforward – “liberal and left-leaning” Kamala Harris vs “protectionist and right-leaning” Donald Trump.

TECH BEHEMOTHS DIVIDED

Big tech has joined the cause, aligning themselves to their chosen candidate. Employees at Microsoft, Google (Alphabet), Amazon, and Sun Microsystems have donated millions of dollars to Kamala Harris’s campaign, according the data made public by political watchdog OpenSecrets. The contribution to Ms Harris’s campaign is significantly more than what was given to the Trump campaign.

Tech billionaires like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg are, however, rallying strongly for Donald Trump. The contributions they have made directly to the Trump campaign are not available at the moment.

According to the a CNN report, Meta chief executive Zuckerberg made public statements supporting right-wing “censorship” narratives and praised Donald Trump for being a “badass”. He later claimed he wanted to appear “neutral” and nonpartisan.

The report also said that Mr Zuckerberg sent a letter to the powerful House Judiciary Committee, stating that the Biden administration had “pressured” Meta to “censor” content.

“In 2021, senior officials from the Biden Administration, including the White House, repeatedly pressured our teams for months to censor certain COVID-19 content, including humor and satire, and expressed a lot of frustration with our teams when we didn’t agree,” Mr Zuckerberg said.

The letter was immediately weaponised by Trump, who claimed once again that the 2020 election was stolen.

Elon Musk, however, has been far more open in his support for Trump. According to ta report in the Wall Street Journal, Musk had said in July that he is personally donating $45 million every month to an organisation called America PAC, which in turn looks after the Trump campaign.

Another big venture capitalist who is openly backing Donald Trump is Peter Theil.

Indian-American billionaire and co-founder of Sun Microsystems, Vinod Khosla, and venture capitalist Reid Hoffman are among those strongly backing Kamala Harris.

Election funding data reveals that Sundar Pichai-led Google (Alphabet), and its subsidiaries have donated $2.16 million to Kamala Harris. In comparison, the same companies donated much smaller amounts to the Trump campaign.

While Satya Nadella-led Microsoft donated $1.1 million to Kamala Harris’s campaign, Jeff Bezos-led Amazon donated $1 million. In comparison, the same groups made much lower contributions to the Trump campaign – $88,000 from Microsoft and $116,000 from Amazon and their employees.

More than a hundred venture capitalists and big tech companies in Silicon Valley, which has largely been left-leaning in the past, have backed Kamala Harris.

BANKING AND OIL GIANTS

Banking corporations and crude oil firms appear to be leaning towards Trump, thanks to his promise of less tax and less regulation in these sectors. Even the US stock market reflected that sentiment when there were assassination attempts against the Republican leader.

According to a Bloomberg report, CEOs of Oil giants have been getting signals from Donald Trump to go big on drilling due to Trump’s love for oil. Trump has openly said that he does not believe in Climate Change and has called it a “lie”. He has also said that he believes in coal and oil for energy because of the advantage United States has in the sector. The ex-President has also faced criticism from climate activists like Greta Thunberg for his view on the issue.

“We have more liquid gold than anybody,” Trump had told Businessweek in July.

According to the Bloomberg report, banking chiefs see an opportunity for more mergers and acquisitions in the energy sector, bringing a windfall in fees. The capital markets hope to send fresh dollars into pipelines, liquefied natural gas terminals and electric transmissions capabilities – and maybe even a new commitment to nuclear energy infrastructure.

Bankers also believe that strict rules which have been implemented under the Biden administration will be rolled back should Donald Trump. Some believe that new banking rules suggested by the Biden Administration will not even see the light of day.

Big banking giants and Oil firms are hence backing Donald Trump.

TRUMP vs HARRIS – A LOOK AT THE TOP CONTRIBUTORS

According to political funding analysts OpenSecrets, the following table shows corporations and individuals who have made the largest monetary contributions to the Kamala Harris and Donald Trump campaigns.

KAMALA HARRIS CAMPAIGN – TOP CONTRIBUTIONS

DONALD TRUMP CAMPAIGN – TOP CONTRIBUTIONS

Eric Adams is accused of illegally accepting foreign campaign donations and $100,000 in luxury travel benefits from Turkish nationals. 

​Eric Adams is accused of illegally accepting foreign campaign donations and $100,000 in luxury travel benefits from Turkish nationals.