TMC, BJP politician files nomination for Kolkata mayor

Senior Trinamool Congress leader and minister Firhad Hakim and a BJP nominee, who is a former deputy mayor, filed their nomination papers for the post of Mayor in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) on Wednesday.

The two filed their nomination papers a day after Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi gave his assent to a Bill enabling a non-councillor to become the mayor of the KMC. The election would be held on December 3 through secret ballot, officials said.

Thursday is the last day for filing nomination and the next day is that for withdrawal. Hakim, the Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Minister, arrived at the KMC a little after 2 pm and handed over his nomination paper to the Municipal Secretary (Returning officer) Harihar Prasad Mondal. Hakim is not a councillor of the KMC. An hour later, BJP nominee Meena Devi Purohit, now a counsellor, also filed her nomination.

Purohit was Deputy Mayor of the KMC during 2000-2005 when TMC's Subrata Mukherjee was Mayor in the Board of the TMC-BJP combine. In the 144-seat KMC, the TMC has 122 councillors, Left Front 14, BJP 5 and Congress 2, while one seat is vacant.

The state assembly had passed the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (Second Amendment) Bill 2018 on November 22 to amend a rule enabling a non-councillor to become the Mayor. The amendment came after incumbent Sovan Chatterjee resigned as Mayor on Thursday last. According to the Bill, a non-councillor could be appointed as Mayor of the KMC, but the person has to get elected as a councillor of KMC within six months.

The earlier law allowed only an elected councillor to occupy the post of the Mayor.

(With inputs from agencies.)