Firhad Hakim elected as first Muslim mayor of Kolkata
Securing 121 votes in the 144-member Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), West Bengal minister Firhad Hakim on Monday became the first Muslim since independence to be elected as the Kolkata mayor. Hakim won the mayoral election in the state, while BJP's Meena Devi Purohit bagged five votes. Twelve Left Front and two Congress councillors had boycotted the election.
The civic body's municipal secretary Harihar Prasad Mondal had announced the result of the election, which was conducted through secret ballots.
It was necessitated following the resignation of Sovan Chatterjee from the post on November 22.
Hakim, who also holds the portfolio of municipal affairs, said his victory was also a "moral defeat" for the BJP.
After being elected the 29th mayor of the city since Independence, Hakim said he should be known by his work and not by his religion and spelt out various development initiatives.
"I will work for the development and beautification of the city. I will work towards making the city pollution-free," he said.
Hakim said the people would get tax rebates if they took up efforts to plant trees in their houses. He also stressed on waste management and recycling to keep the city clean.
Announcing a WhatsApp number, the new mayor also asked the citizens to inform about their problems and come up with suggestions to improve the municipal services.
Steps would be taken to ensure that there is no waterlogging in the city during heavy rainfall, he said.
Last week, CPI(M) councillor Bilquis Begum had moved the Calcutta High Court challenging Hakim's candidature in the mayoral polls on the ground that he was not a councillor from any ward of the civic body.
The high court had refused to stay the election on Friday.
Hakim was chosen as the mayor designate by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) councillors on November 22 in the presence of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
The TMC has 122 seats in the KMC House, the Left Front 14, the BJP five, the Congress two, while one seat is vacant. One TMC councillor gave the election a miss due to ill-health, sources said.
