Firhad Hakim
Hakim also indicated taking a possible political sanyas after his Kolkata Port MLA term ends in 2031. Because people will not get the service (which I could give when I was younger), speaking to a private news channel, he said: “One should not contest after a certain age. A person, who owes his political heft to Mamata Banerjee, disowned her when she lost polls.
Hakim, who resigned as mayor four months ago saying he wanted “to leave with dignity”, said he still saw Mamata Banerjee as his neta but was pained and hurt by the fact that she chose “blood over devotion”. Asked on Mamata, he said, “I still consider her as my neta, yes, even to this day. MLA and TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said: “The point is Firhad Hakim quit as KMC mayor when there was no need to do it. What he says now does not matter. On Hakim’s “blood-versus-devotion” comment, Ghosh argued: “Let us, for a moment, accept what he says as fact.
So, I will not contest this poll. I want younger people to come and serve people in my locality and serve older people like me. If they work for people and get people’s acceptance, it will be near-impossible to defeat them politically. But call it pain or hurt, she chose blood over devotion. Hakim did not name Abhishek Banerjee. Hakim’s statements drew strong rejoinders from Trinamool. His action helped govt take control. He could have stayed (as mayor) and serve people. Hakim has placed personal interests above everything else. He has sold his spine and self-respect to BJP. Then the question is why is he saying it now, when Mamata Banerjee is not the CM? Why couldn’t he say this when she was the CM? After all, he was not just Kolkata mayor but also a senior cabinet minister who held important portfolios. What Hakim did was unacceptable given the faith and trust Mamata had in him. Hakim’s political legacy will be that of an opportunist and political backstabber. ”
Kolkata: Former Kolkat amayor Firhad Hakim on Saturday said he won’t contest the forthcoming Kolkata Municipal Corporation polls, ending a run that lasted over two decades and saw him rise from a councillor to a two-term chief of the civic body.