Firhad Hakim to resign as Kolkata Mayor because of BJP, Mamata accepts plea: Kunal Ghosh

Firhad Hakim, a senior Trinamool Congress leader, will resign as the Mayor of Kolkata, TMC MLA Kunal Ghosh said on Wednesday, adding that party supremo Mamata Banerjee has accepted his request to step down.

Hakim, one of the party's most prominent leaders and a close aide of Banerjee, had earlier sought permission from the TMC chief to resign from the post, citing difficulties in functioning after the BJP came to power in West Bengal.

“At that time, he was asked not to resign,” Ghosh told reporters. “However, he again requested Mamata Banerjee today to allow him to step down, following which she agreed.”

The development comes amid growing uncertainty within the Trinamool Congress and a series of resignations by party councillors in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) in recent weeks.

Hakim's resignation marks a setback for the TMC, which comes at a time when the organisation is grappling with internal turbulence following its loss of power in the state.

There was no immediate word on who would succeed Hakim as the Mayor of Kolkata.

Who is Firhad Hakim?

Firhad Hakim, a heavyweight minority face of the TMC, has served as Kolkata Mayor since 2018 and has held several key ministerial portfolios in the state government over the years.

The KMC has been under the control of the TMC since 2010.

Expelled TMC MLA Ritabrata Banerjee ‘accepted as principal opposition’

Expelled Trinamool Congress legislator Ritabrata Banerjee, who had claimed support of 58 MLAs, said that they have been "accepted as the principal opposition" in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly and that the Speaker has granted "us our claim".

Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, Ritabrata Banerjee also said that they want Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee "to be our chief advisor".

Ritabrata claimed the support of two-thirds of TMC's 80 newly elected MLAs.

"This two-thirds strong legislative team of the Trinamool Congress inside the 18th West Bengal Legislative Assembly does not believe in 'I', it believes in 'we'. Whatever norms are framed out, we have followed every norm, and that's why we have been accepted as the principal opposition in the 18th West Bengal Legislative Assembly," he said.

"We want Mamata Banerjee to be our chief advisor, to give us advice that will help us in strengthening our position as the opposition. Eighty members were elected by the Trinamool Congress symbol. More than two-thirds of them have given our claim, and the claim has been accepted," he added.

Ritabrata Banerjee said they were going one step at a time.

"We have claimed that the legislative party belongs to these MLAs. Two-thirds of the MLAs who have won in the symbol of the Trinomial Congress. The West Bengal State Legislative Assembly, the Speaker, has granted us our claim. So we want to go one step forward, one step at a time," he said.