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Firhad Hakim 1 January 1959) is an Indian politician serving as the current and 38th
Mayor of Kolkata The Mayor of Kolkata is the chief executive of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, one of the civic authorities in the Indian city of Kolkata. He is the ''First Citizen'' of the city of Kolkata. There have been 38 mayors of Kolkata in total ti ...
. He is also serving as
Cabinet Minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, ...
of Urban Development and Municipal Affairs and Housing,
Government of West Bengal The Government of West Bengal also known as the West Bengal Government, is the subnational government of the Indian state of West Bengal , created by the National Constitution as the state's legislative, executive and judicial authority. The ...
. He is a MLA of the
All India Trinamool Congress The All India Trinamool Congress (English: All India Grassroots Congress; AITC), colloquially the Trinamool Congress ( TMC) is an Indian political party which is predominantly active in West Bengal. The party is led by Mamata Banerjee, the cur ...
party from
Kolkata Port Port of Kolkata or Kolkata Port, officially known as Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port Trust (formerly Kolkata Port Trust), is the only riverine major port of India, located in the city of Kolkata, West Bengal, around from the sea. It is the olde ...
. Hakim was elected to the
West Bengal Legislative Assembly The West Bengal Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the Indian states and territories of India, state of West Bengal. It is located in the B. B. D. Bagh area of Kolkata, the capital of the state. Members of the Legislative as ...
in 2009. Two years later, he became a cabinet minister in the Mamata Banerjee ministry. In December 2018, he was appointed mayor following the resignation of the incumbent
Sovan Chatterjee Sovan Chatterjee (born 7 July 1964) is an Indian politician. He is a former member of Bharatiya Janata Party, and former Mayor of the city of Kolkata, the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Chatterjee served as a Kolkata Municipal Corpo ...
.


Personal life

Hakim's grandfather migrated from the
Gaya district } Gaya district is one of the thirty-eight districts of the Indian state of Bihar. It was officially established on 3 October 1865. The district has a common boundary with the state of Jharkhand to the south. Gaya city is both the district head ...
of
Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...
to
Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
and started his business. His father, Abdul Hakim, was a law officer for the
Kolkata Port Trust Port of Kolkata or Kolkata Port, officially known as Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port Trust (formerly Kolkata Port Trust), is the only riverine major port of India, located in the city of Kolkata, West Bengal, around from the sea. It is the olde ...
. He is married to Ismat Hakim. They have three daughters—Priyadarshini, Shabba and Afsha. They live in
Chetla Chetla is a neighbourhood of South Kolkata in Kolkata district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Geography Police district Chetla police station is part of the South division of Kolkata Police The Kolkata Police Force (KPF) is one of the ...
, a neighborhood of
South Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, commer ...
. He is nicknamed Bobby after the Australian cricketer Bobby Simpson. Hakim graduated from
Heramba Chandra College Heramba Chandra College is popularly known as South City Day. It shares premises with Sivanath Sastri College (popularly known as South City Morning) and Prafulla Chandra College (popularly known as South City Evening). History In the histor ...
with a degree in commerce. He is the organizer-in-chief of the Chetla Agrani
Durga Puja Durga Puja ( bn, দুর্গা পূজা), also known as Durgotsava or Sharodotsava, is an annual Hindu festival originating in the Indian subcontinent which reveres and pays homage to the Hindu goddess Durga and is also celebrated ...
committee.


Minister of West Bengal

In the late 1990s, Hakim was first elected as a councilor of the
Kolkata Municipal Corporation Kolkata Municipal Corporation (abbreviated KMC; also Calcutta Municipal Corporation) is the local government of the Indian city of Kolkata, the state capital of West Bengal. This civic administrative body administers an area of . Its motto, '' ...
. On 11 November 2009, he was elected to the
West Bengal Legislative Assembly The West Bengal Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the Indian states and territories of India, state of West Bengal. It is located in the B. B. D. Bagh area of Kolkata, the capital of the state. Members of the Legislative as ...
from the Alipore constituency after defeating
Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...
candidate, Kaustav Chatterjee by a margin of 27,555 votes in the by-poll. In the
2011 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election Assembly election was held in Indian state of West Bengal in 2011 to elect the members of West Bengal Legislative Assembly as the term of the incumbent government was about to expire naturally. It was held in six phases between 18 April and 10 ...
, Hakim won from the Kolkata Port constituency as a candidate of the
All India Trinamool Congress The All India Trinamool Congress (English: All India Grassroots Congress; AITC), colloquially the Trinamool Congress ( TMC) is an Indian political party which is predominantly active in West Bengal. The party is led by Mamata Banerjee, the cur ...
. He received 63,866 votes and defeated his nearest rival Moinuddin Shams of the All India Forward Bloc by a margin of 25,033 votes. Subsequently, he became the Minister of Urban Development and Municipal Affairs in the first Mamata Banerjee cabinet. On 3 March 2013, the Ultadanga Flyover (located in East Kolkata) collapsed, leaving three people injured. Hakim blamed a crack that was detected in the flyover as a reason behind the collapse. He said that the problem was "not related to maintenance but a technical fault in the bolt system". In June 2014, he announced that 22 new municipalities would be created in
West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
. In the
2016 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election A Legislative Assembly election was held in 2016 for the 294 seats (out of 295 seats) of the '' Vidhan Sabha'' (Vidhān Sabhā) in the state of West Bengal in India. The All India Trinamool Congress under Mamata Banerjee won 211 seats, and th ...
, Hakim defeated his nearest rival, Rakesh Singh of the Left Front-
Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...
alliance by a margin of 26,548 votes. On 16 June 2017, he was appointed chairman of the
Tarakeswar Tarakeswar (pronounced ''Tarokeshwar'') is a famous sacred city and a municipality in Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Tarakeswar is called "Babar Dham" or "The city of Shiva". It is one of the major tourist and holy place ...
Development Board.


Mayor of Kolkata

On 20 November 2018,
Sovan Chatterjee Sovan Chatterjee (born 7 July 1964) is an Indian politician. He is a former member of Bharatiya Janata Party, and former Mayor of the city of Kolkata, the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Chatterjee served as a Kolkata Municipal Corpo ...
, then
mayor of Kolkata The Mayor of Kolkata is the chief executive of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, one of the civic authorities in the Indian city of Kolkata. He is the ''First Citizen'' of the city of Kolkata. There have been 38 mayors of Kolkata in total ti ...
, resigned as a cabinet minister. Two days later, he resigned from the post of the mayor of Kolkata. Subsequently, Trinamool Congress announced that Hakim would be their mayoral candidate. The
state government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, or ...
passed the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (Second Amendment) Bill, 2018. This allows a candidate who is not a member of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation to be appointed mayor of the city, provided they are elected to the same within a period of six months. On 28 November 2018, Hakim filed his nomination. The following day the
Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...
announced Mina Debi Purohit (former deputy mayor) as their mayoral candidate. He secured 121 votes while Purohit received five votes; Hakim was elected mayor. He became the first Muslim since the
independence of India The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...
to be elected mayor of Kolkata. On getting elected, Hakim said that "pollution and environment are two areas" on which he would like to work. He also setup a
WhatsApp WhatsApp (also called WhatsApp Messenger) is an internationally available freeware, cross-platform, centralized instant messaging (IM) and voice-over-IP (VoIP) service owned by American company Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook). It allows us ...
number, promising to act on complaints received on that mobile number. Making Kolkata cleaner and greener, ensuring a continuous supply of drinking water to the city, building toilets in slums and making the slums "model residential areas" were his priorities as mayor. In January 2019, it was announced that Hakim would contest ward no. 82 of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation. In a by-election, he won the ward and defeated his nearest rival Jiban Sen of the Bharatiya Janata Party by a margin of 13,987 votes; Hakim received 16,564 votes. The term of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation expired on 7 May 2020, however due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, elections couldn't be held on time to elect the new councillors of the KMC and was delayed. On 8 May 2020, Hakim was appointed as Chairman of Board of Administrators of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation. He resigned as Chairman of Board of Administrators of KMC on 22 March 2021 after the
Election Commission of India The Election Commission of India (ECI) is a constitutional body. It was established by the Constitution of India to conduct and regulate elections in the country. Article 324 of the Constitution provides that the power of superintendence, di ...
(ECI) has restrained political appointees serving as board administrators of West Bengal municipal corporations, ahead of the 2021 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election. He was succeeded by
IAS IAS may refer to: Science * Institute for Advanced Study, in Princeton, New Jersey, United States * Image Analysis & Stereology, the official journal of the International Society for Stereology & Image Analysis. * Iowa Archeological Society, Uni ...
Khalil Ahmed.


Controversies

In 2016, the
Narada sting operation The Narada sting operation was a sting operation carried out by Mathew Samuel targeting high-ranking officials and politicians of the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC). It showed several politicians and a high-ranked police officer accepting ...
video was released in which Hakim was seen allegedly taking bribes. On 19 September 2017, he was questioned for eight hours by the
Central Bureau of Investigation The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is the premier investigating agency of India. It operates under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. Originally set up to investigate bribery and governmen ...
at
Nizam Palace Nizam Palace is a tier A heritage building on AJC Bose Road in Kolkata (formerly known as Calcutta), the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. It was constructed in 1933. Mir Osman Ali Khan, the 7th Nizam of Hyderabad, acquired it as his K ...
about the sting operation. Hakim said that the CBI probe was a "political conspiracy" against his party and that "he was not seen taking cash in any of the footage". Before the 2016 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election, Hakim, while speaking to Maleeha Hamid Sidiqqui of Pakistani newspaper ''
Dawn Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's horizo ...
'', referred to his constituency as "mini-Pakistan". However, he denied making such a statement. He said "she (the Pakistani journalist) only asked me that this place looks like
Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...
of Pakistan. I did not make any comment". He also said that he was "being targeted for being a Muslim and that it was a communal conspiracy". At the time of 2021 West Bengal Assembly election, a video goes viral on social media, where Firhad Hakim is seen abusing India's central forces. In this context, the Election Commission made a show cause to Firhad Hakim. Although Firhad Hakim denies it. On 17 May 2021, he along with senior minister
Subrata Mukherjee Subrata Mukherjee (14 June 1946 – 4 November 2021) was an Indian politician who was cabinet minister of the government of West Bengal and sitting member of West Bengal Legislative Assembly. He was a member of All India Trinamool Congress. H ...
, MLA and former minister
Madan Mitra Madan Mitra (born 3 December 1954) is an Indian politician, and social media sensation. Madan Mitra started his career with party Indian National Congress. He held many positions of Indian Youth Congress, the party's youth wing. In 1998, he joi ...
and former Mayor of Kolkata
Sovan Chatterjee Sovan Chatterjee (born 7 July 1964) is an Indian politician. He is a former member of Bharatiya Janata Party, and former Mayor of the city of Kolkata, the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Chatterjee served as a Kolkata Municipal Corpo ...
has been arrested by
Central Bureau of Investigation The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is the premier investigating agency of India. It operates under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. Originally set up to investigate bribery and governmen ...
from their house in connection with the
Narada sting operation The Narada sting operation was a sting operation carried out by Mathew Samuel targeting high-ranking officials and politicians of the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC). It showed several politicians and a high-ranked police officer accepting ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hakim, Bobby 1959 births Living people 21st-century Indian Muslims West Bengal politicians State cabinet ministers of West Bengal Mayors of Kolkata Heramba Chandra College alumni University of Calcutta alumni