Kolkata to get its new mayor today after 19 months – Hindustan Times

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee is likely to announce the name of the mayor of Kolkata on Thursday after a meeting with newly elected Trinamool Congress (TMC) councillors.

The meeting is scheduled to take place at around 2pm. The TMC’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, veteran leaders, and lawmakers are among those who will also attend it.

The ruling TMC swept the Kolkata Municipal Corporation polls held on December 19 by winning 134 out of 144 wards. The Bharatiya Janata Party finished second with three seats. The Congress and the Left won two wards each.

There has been speculation that minister Firhad Hakim may become the mayor again.

TMC leaders said the new KMC board is likely to have some new faces and more women participation.

“The chief minister and party leadership would decide on the issue. The rest is all speculation,” said a TMC leader.

The civic body was being run by a board of administrators led by Hakim after the five-year tenure of the elected mayor-in-council ended in May 2020. The special arrangement was made as the civic elections could not be held due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Elections to over 100 other civic bodies across the state are also pending for over a year now. On December 6, the State Election Commission told the Calcutta high court that municipal elections in the remaining 22 districts will be held in six to eight phases by May 2022.