KOLKATA: 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.
Two opposition parties, the CPI(M) and the Congress, said they would not take part in the voting process for different reasons.
Both Hakim and Purohit 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 adding 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 councillor, 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 councillor, Left Front 14, BJP 5 and Congress 2, while one seat is vacant.
CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty said, "We will take part in the voting process. We have decided to move court challenging the new act. We feel that this amended law is unconstitutional."
Such a law by which a non-elected member can become a mayor cannot be found anywhere in the country, he claimed.
Abdul Mannan, Leader of opposition in the assembly, said "Why should we participate in the KMC voting process? We don't have strength in the KMC."
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.