Kolkata gets its first Muslim mayor

KOLKATA: Firhad Hakim, minister in the West Bengal government has been named the new mayor of Kolkata following the sudden ouster of Sovan Chatterjee. He is currently the minister for Municipal and Urban Development Affairs. Reports suggest his experience in matters related to the municipal affairs helped him emerge as a frontrunner for the top civic post. Chatterjee resigned as the minister on November 20, after which, he was asked to also step down from the post of the mayor by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Hakim was named for the post after a bill was passed in the state Assembly that would enable a non-corporator to be appointed as a mayor of the corporation. Known to be a Mamata loyalist, Hakim has to get elected as the corporator within six months.