Firhad Hakim Appointed Kolkata Mayor, TMC MP Mala Roy Named KMC Chairperson

The decision was taken after a meeting of the newly-elected councillors of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) at the Maharashtra Niwas in the West Bengal capital. 

Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim (L), West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee (R). (Image: Twitter/FirhadHakim)

Kolkata: The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Thursday named West Bengal Transport and Housing Minister Firhad Hakim as the next mayor of Kolkata.

The decision was taken after a meeting of the newly-elected councillors of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) at the Maharashtra Niwas in the West Bengal capital. 

Hakim, an MLA from the Kolkata Port assembly segment, won the KMC election from ward number 82.

Hakim on his part thanked West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee for giving him the 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,” PTI quoted Hakim as saying.

Hakim, the first Muslim mayor of Kolkata, took charge of the post earlier in December 2018 after Sovan Chatterjee’s abrupt exit.

Meanwhile, the TMC also named South Kolkata Lok Sabha MP Mala Roy the chairperson of the KMC.

Roy, re-elected as councillor from ward 88, was the civic body chairman in the earlier term too.

Kashipur-Belgachia MLA Atin Ghosh, who became the councillor from ward 11, was again appointed the KMC deputy mayor after the meeting during which all the newly-elected councillors of the TMC were present.

This came as the TMC gained control of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation for the third consecutive time, registering its victory in 134 seats.

The results of the KMC election were declared earlier on Tuesday.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won three wards in the 144-member KMC, while the Left Front and Congress bagged two seats each in the elections held earlier on Sunday.

Three independent candidates also emerged victorious in the election.