Senior Trinamool Congress leader Firhad Hakim is set to resign as Kolkata mayor after party chief Mamata Banerjee accepted his request to step down, party spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said on Wednesday.
“Farhad Hakim has repeatedly expressed his desire to party chief Mamata Banerjee to resign from the mayor’s post. Mamata tried to dissuade him. But he said that the civic body has become non-existent. After considering all parties, the TMC chief gave her nod to Hakim to resign from the post,” Gosh told the media.
HT tried to contact him, but was unable to get a response till press time.
“I am yet to receive Firhad Hakim’s resignation. As per norms, if the mayor wants to resign, he should submit it to me,” Mala Roy, chairperson of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), told news agency PTI.
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Hakim, an MLA from Kolkata port area and a close aide of Banerjee, has served as mayor of Kolkata since 2018 and has held several key portfolios in the state government over the years. KMC has been under TMC control since 2010.
This comes at a time when the TMC is facing its most serious internal revolt since losing power in West Bengal, with a large section of its legislators openly supporting ousted MLA Ritabrata Banerjee and challenging the party’s current leadership structure.
In May, at least two KMC mayors resigned from their posts. On Tuesday, the mayor’s member also submitted his resignation.
Separately, several TMC leaders, including local councillors, have been arrested across several civic bodies since May 9 on charges of corruption, extortion and threatening people, as well as for their role in clashes following the 2021 elections. Bengal has 128 civic bodies, all currently led by the TMC.
State Municipal Affairs Minister Agnimitra Paul had earlier said, “Several TMC members in civic bodies across Bengal have resigned over the past few days. In many civic bodies, TMC members have not come to office and have stopped working. This only reflects their irresponsibility.”
