Firhad Hakim resigns as Kolkata Municipal Corporation Mayor

Kolkata Municipal Corporation Mayor Firhad Hakim resigned from his official position on Wednesday (June 3, 2026). He has been one of the loyalists serving the Trinamool Congress since the party was founded. This comes as the TMC sees a major dismantling of their party and as the leadership takes a hit after the humiliating electoral loss on May 4. 

This move comes as a blow as internal revolts, defections, resignations, expulsions, and arrests grip the Trinamool Congress amid shifting political dynamics of the State. According to sources, the party supremo Mamata Banerjee has agreed to Mr Hakim’s decision to resign as the Mayor. 

Earlier in the day, Mr Hakim attended a State government meeting at the Secretariat along with the ruling Bharatiya Janta Party ministers and MLAs.  

Mr Hakim has been one of the forerunners of the party and has been a close aide of Ms Banerjee for over three decades. They have both risen the ranks since the inception of the TMC. 

In the 2026 State Assembly elections, Mr Hakim was one of the 80 TMC MLAs who won from their seats even when the electoral numbers of the party took a massive dive. 

“Firhad Hakim submitted a request to Mamata Banerjee and sought permission to resign. He wants a dignified exit, as the State Government is defuncting the Corporation… Today Mamata Banerjee has granted him permission to resign,” senior TMC MLA Kunal Ghosh said on Wednesday (June 3, 2026) evening. 

Chaos at KMC 

Around 10 days back, mayhem had unfolded in the KMC office in the heart of Kolkata when the Mayor and the KMC Chairperson were both locked out from the chambers during a scheduled monthly meeting with civic body representatives. 

Chairperson Mala Roy and Mayor Mr Hakim alleged that the Secretary refused to open the chambers. Later, they held a parallel meeting inside the canteen area as a form of protest against the lockout. 

However, the BJP leadership claimed that their councillors were not informed about the meeting and only TMC members attended it. Almost 90 TMC councillors showed up to the meeting. 

A day back, on June 2, KMC councillor Sachin Singh was taken into custody by the police under allegations of corruption.  

Saffron surge in KMC 

The last KMC elections were held in December 2021, and they are due for a re-election in December 2026. The TMC has been in power at the KMC since 2010, even before they came to power in the State government. Among this, Mr Hakim has served as the Mayor since 2018. He was first appointed after former <Mayor Sovandev Chatterjee resigned abruptly. In 2021, he took charge as the leader of the civic body for the second term. 

In 2021, of the 144 KMC wards, TMC won 134, and the BJP won only 3. The rest were won by the Left, Congress, or independent candidates. The TMC secured 72% votes, the Left parties got 11.7%, and the BJP registered only 9.3% votes. Kolkata and its surrounding areas had always been the TMC bastion, and they had easy wins in these areas in most elections, including the Assembly polls. 

However, after the 2026 State Assembly polls, the tide has shifted towards the BJP. In these polls, which overthrew the 15-year regime of the TMC, the saffron surge has also swept across the KMC wards. In at least 102 of the 144 wards, BJP remained ahead of the TMC, fueling speculation about whether the TMC will be able to retain their power in the civic body.