KOLKATA: West Bengal Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Minister Firhad Hakim was elected the new mayor of Kolkata Thursday after Sovan Chatterjee resigned from the post on the directions of Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee.
The decision was taken at an emergency meeting of KMC councillors, where senior party leaders, including Banerjee, were present.
Hakim will be the first mayor of the city from the minority community since Independence.
Atin Ghosh, a mayor-in-council, will be the new deputy mayor replacing Iqbal Ahmed, who is ill for the past few months.
Senior Trinamool Congress leader Chatterjee, who had resigned as minister for fire services and housing on Tuesday, was absent from the meeting He is a councillor of the KMC and an MLA of ruling TMC in the state assembly.
Asked about his absence, Chatterjee claimed he was not called for the meeting in which 116 of the total 122 councillors were present.
The party leadership cited "a communication gap" as the reason.
Hakim, who was elected unanimously, thanked Banerjee and party colleagues for restoring faith in him.
"I am just a soldier of the party and will work for the development of the city," he said.
Hakim will be required to be elected as a councillor in the next six months as per a new bill.
He had been one in the past.
Banerjee, who asked Chatterjee to step down from the mayor post on Tuesday after he quit the cabinet, earlier in the day ruled out any crisis in the government following his resignations.
"There is no crisis at all. One can always resign and there are provisions. There is no misunderstanding either. Someone can have personal problems," Banerjee said at the state assembly while speaking during the discussion on Kolkata Municipal Corporation (Second Amendment) Bill 2018.
The amendment would enable a person, who is not an elected councillor, to be made the mayor of a corporation, but would have to be elected within six months to continue in the post.
In response to questions by BJP MLA and the party state unit president Dilip Ghosh, the chief minister said, "Even in your party, M J Akbar had resigned (from the post of the Minister of State for External Affairs).
In our party, all the 122 councillors of KMC have the capability of taking up the post of mayor," she said.
"Why is Amit Shah your party president? Is there no other capable person in your party?" she shot back.
Chatterjee sent his resignation through a messenger to KMC Chairperson Mala Ray.
He told newsmen that he is ready to quit as KMC councillor and also as an MLA of the TMC if the party asks him to.
"It depends on the decision and direction of the party supremo," he said, adding that he continues to be a "loyal soldier" of the party and his "complete loyalty" is to Banerjee.
"If my party wants, I will quit as councillor to enable someone else to get elected. If needed I can also quit as MLA. However, I don't know if my party will take my suggestion," Chatterjee said.
Expressing his gratitude to Banerjee for keeping faith in him and grooming him as a politician, he said that he would extend all support and cooperation.
"Since yesterday was a holiday, I had to wait till office opens. Today, I sent my resignation letter through my representative for the acceptance by KMC chairperson Mala Roy. On Tuesday, I had resigned from the post of minister," Chatterjee said.
Asked about the causes behind the chief minister's direction for his resignation, Chatterjee said, "I don't know the reasons.
To a question about an alleged setback in his personal life, Chatterjee said, "Some people are intentionally spreading nuisance."
Earlier this year, Chatterjee had been removed from the post of the environment minister by the chief minister.
The rift between Banerjee and Chatterjee, who was once considered her trusted aide, had started growing after reports of problems in his personal life hit the headlines.
There were also allegations that Chatterjee was not taking his responsibilities seriously, either as a mayor nor as a minister.