Directly elected mayor
Topic: Urban Local Government: Municipalities and Cities · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Under this system, the city's voters elect the mayor themselves. The councillors do not choose the mayor. A directly elected mayor gets a fixed term and a stronger mandate, which means clear public backing. Mayors chosen by councillors often serve short terms. The Second Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) in 2007 recommended a directly elected mayor with a five-year term who would also be the executive head, the person in charge of actually running the city.
Example
States such as Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana have used direct election of mayors (verify current). The main argument against it is deadlock: if the mayor and most of the council belong to different parties, decisions can get stuck.
Don't confuse with
- Mayor chosen by councillors: here the elected councillors pick the mayor, and the term can be short. Delhi's mayor serves one year and Mumbai's serves two and a half years.