Bengal Urban Development Minister and key Mamata Banerjee aide Firhad Hakim was on Thursday chosen the leader of Kolkata Municipal Corporation — a responsibility that will finally make him thecolonial city’s next
Mayor following the resignation of Sovan Chatterjee who earlier quit his ministerial posts too as a culmination of an alleged extra-marital crisis.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who personally met 123 councilors of Kolkata said there was no crisis in the party following Chatterjee’s resignation.
“He had offered to resign earlier also but we prevented him from doing so but this time he would not listen and resigned on personal grounds it was accepted.”
Chatterjee’s alleged relationship with a college principal and Trinamool sympathiser Baisakhi Banerjee had for long been an issue of gossip in the city circle.
The issue that had driven a wedge between the Chief Minster and her one-time closest aide finally saw Chatterjee quitting the all-important post on Thursday.
“We are trusted soldiers of the party and will do whatever the party wants us to do,” new Mayor designate Hakim said.
Earlier the State Assembly passed an amendment bill allowing an “outsider” — who is not a councilor — to get elected as Mayor subject to his getting elected as a councilor within six month’s time.
The new law passed will be applicable in the case of municipalities and panchayats too, sources said.
Meanwhile, Chatterjee said he was still in the Trinamool Congress and “will resign both as councilor and MLA if party chief Mamata Banerjee asks me to do so.” When asked about his future political plans the former South 24 Parganas TMC president said “wait and things will be revealed soon.”
Meanwhile, the BJP leadership said their doors were open to politicians who wanted to work according to their ideal but added Chatterjee had not contacted them as yet. “Our doors are open for politicians but not for those who are of questionable conduct,” State BJP president Dilip Ghosh said.