Firhad Hakim to continue as KMC Mayor; Mamata gives 'gurumantra' to party councillors at Kalighat meet

Amid intense speculation of an administrative collapse following local electoral setbacks, Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim will continue to lead the civic body. The political atmosphere inside the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) reached a boiling point after reports emerged that Hakim had offered to step down due to mounting internal pressures and friction within the party ranks. However, following an emergency closed-door strategy meeting called by Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee at her Kalighat residence, the party leadership resolved to fight back against any attempts to destabilize the municipal board.

During the high-stakes meeting, Mamata Banerjee delivered a vital political "guru mantra" to her councillors, urging them to maintain solidarity and stand their ground against administrative roadblocks. Member of the Mayoral Council (MMIC) Sandipan Saha revealed that the party chief explicitly reminded the leadership of their democratic mandate. She emphasized that the current KMC administration is a constitutionally elected board, and therefore, no outside authority or bureaucratic maneuver can abruptly dismiss or evict them from their institutional positions.

This defiant stance comes at a time when KMC operations have ground to a halt, highlighted by the unprecedented locking of the main Council Chamber. Addressing the technical deadlock surrounding the abrupt postponement of the house session, Sandipan Saha stated that the Trinamool Congress is actively seeking expert legal counsel to counter the administrative blockade. The ruling civic board plans to challenge the structural lockout through constitutional means, asserting that the democratic rights of elected representatives cannot be suppressed by arbitrary bureaucratic disruptions.