Senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader and Cabinet Minister Firhad Hakim was on Wednesday renominated by party chairperson Mamata Banerjee as the Mayor of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC).
The decision was announced at a meeting of elected party councillors.
The TMC won 134 of the 144 wards in the recent KMC polls.
Ms. Banerjee, who publicly announced Mr. Hakim as the leader of the party and the KMC, asked if anyone had any objection to the announcement.
The decision to choose renominate Mr. Hakim, who has been at the helm of affairs at the KMC since December 2018, points out that the Chief Minister has kept her faith in the old guard. Ms. Banerjee had been conservative in selection of candidates for the civic polls and relied mainly on party faithfuls and their family members.
“I want to thank Mamata Banerjee for giving me this opportunity to serve the people of Kolkata again. I have been appointed as the leader of the party and after taking oath as Mayor, I will work towards implementing the manifesto,” Mr. Hakim said.
Mala Roy, South Kolkata MP who contested and won from ward number 88, has been nominated as the KMC chairperson. Atin Ghosh was nominated as the Deputy Mayor. Both had held their respective offices in the past. Ms. Banerjee had announced 12 members of the Mayor-in-Council and chairpersons of the 16 boroughs.
Polls to other civic bodies
In another development, the West Bengal government informed the Calcutta High Court that polls to the civic bodies in Asansol, Siliguri, Chandannnagar and Bidhannagar would be held on January 22. There are 111 civic bodies in the State where elections are to be held in the next few months. The government has told the court that polls to civic bodies will be completed by May 2022.
Source: https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/kolkata/firhad-hakim-named-next-mayor-of-kolkata/article38020751.ece
