Kolkata Mayor resigns, Hakim is TMC’s Mayoral candidate

Within hours after senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader and former minister Sovan Chatterjee resigned from the post of the Kolkata's Mayor, the name of Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim was announced as the Mayoral candidate from a meeting of TMC councilors.

The meeting was presided over by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday.

Apart from Hakim, the Mayor in Council (Health) Atin Ghosh’s name was announced as the candidate for the post of deputy mayor.

During the meeting the chief minister said that there was no “bitterness between him (Chatterjee) and us. Perhaps he had some problems and wanted to resign."

“ Earlier also Sovan had sought to resign three or four times. But then we wanted to ensure that he continued to work for the people. However on Tuesday he resigned from the ministry without holding any discussions,” Mamata said.

The chief minister also said that she had personally spoken to Chatterjee thrice over phone and had also asked Hakim to speak to him.

“His resignation was accepted. After he resigned as a minister we thought that he did not want to work for some time and he was asked to step down from the post of Mayor as well,” Mamata said.

Earlier in the day, the state government passed the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (Second Amendment) Bill, 2018, according to which someone who is not an elected member (councilor) of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) can be elected by other councilors of KMC on condition that he gets elected as a councilor of KMC within six months from the date of election (by other councilors).

“Provided that the elected members of the Corporation may also elect an individual to be the mayor provided that he gets himself elected to be a member of the Corporation within six months from the date of election( by other members), failing which, he shall cease to be the Mayor of the Corporation,” stated the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (Second Amendment) Bill, 2018.

The Bill was tabled by Hakim in the Assembly. The amendment will enable Hakim, who is yet to become a councilor of KMC, to be the Mayor of Kolkata.

During her address in the Assembly the chief minister said that along with KMC the new amendment will be apply to all civic bodies in the state and the government was thinking about applying the same provision to the three-tier panchayat system.