Will Firhad Hakim resign! KMC's monthly session abruptly cancelled

The shifting political landscape following the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections has plunged the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) into a state of severe administrative instability. On Thursday, the KMC Secretary issued an official notification abruptly cancelling the corporation's highly anticipated monthly session. This unexpected postponement comes right on the heels of a massive state-level regime change, where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured a sweeping legislative majority, inflicting a crushing defeat on the Trinamool Congress (TMC). The sudden transition of power at Nabanna has triggered immense structural anxiety within the TMC-controlled municipal board, which must now operate under a hostile provincial government.

Friction inside the civic body’s apex leadership became glaringly obvious earlier this week when the scheduled Mayoral Council meeting, originally set for Monday, May 18, was suddenly scrapped at the eleventh hour. Internal sources reveal that the last-minute cancellation was initiated after Municipal Commissioner Smita Pandey informed the board that she would be unable to allocate time for the executive conference. Mayor Firhad Hakim subsequently confirmed the postponement to the media, noting that a fresh date would be announced later. However, internal administrative circles suggest that the back-to-back cancellations are not mere scheduling conflicts, but rather the direct byproduct of a severe executive rift that has developed between Mayor Hakim and Commissioner Pandey following the ruling party's electoral debacle.

Another controversy broke out when suddenly, Firhad's picture vanished from the KMC's website. However, it was restored later. Amid these growing administrative bottlenecks, heavy speculation is mounting within political circles that Mayor Firhad Hakim, a close loyalist of the TMC leadership, may tender his resignation from the mayoral post rather than navigate a paralyzed administration crippled by post-poll institutional friction.