Mamata Banerjee's trusted aide, a lightning rod for controversies: Why Firhad Hakim is again receiving brickbats
He is one of Mamata Banerjee's trusted leaders, but Firhad Hakim often leaves his leader and party in a spot of bother with his comments. Affectionately known as 'Bobby da' in the Trinamool Congress (TMC), Hakim, who triggered a row a few months ago by saying that Muslism would one day 'become a bigger majority than what the current majority population is', hasstirred the pot again with his comments targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi over Operation Sindoor.
The four-time MLA sparked outrage on Saturday after he questioned the success of Operation and claimed that Modi had halted military action against Pakistan as he feared a 'big nation' would label him 'kapurush (coward)'. The BJP was quick to latch on to the remarks, with the party's state chief, Sukanta Majundar, saying that Hakim's criticism stemmed from 'an inability to digest such an operation', especially due to the lack of such actions during the UPA era.
Hakim's political rise has been meteoric. Born in a family that traces its ancestry to Gaya in Bihar, the 66-year-old began his political career in the late 1990s as a councillor in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) and, in 2021, became the first Muslim to occupy the post of Kolkata Mayor since Independence. He first entered the Assembly in 2009 after winning the Alipore bypoll. He then successfully contested the 2011 Assembly polls from Kolkata Port, a seat he has retained since then. His influence in the port area is so extensive that he is considered to have the final word there.
After the exit of Mukul Roy in 2017 and the arrest of former Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee in 2022 in connection with the alleged teacher recruitment scam, Hakim is said to have solidified his position as one of Banerjee's trusted lieutenants. Since the TMC first came to power in 2011, he has been a part of her Cabinet and held important portfolios such as Urban Development and Municipal Affairs. He also serves as the Chairman of the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA). Hakim is also known to organise one of Kolkata's most popular Durga Pujas, in his neighbourhood of Chetla, where Banerjee is a regular visitor.
List of controversies
Hakim's latest remarks are the latest in a long list of controversial comments that he has made in his two-decade political career, sometimes even leaving his own party red-faced. In 2016, Hakim, in an interview with Pakistani daily Dawn, referred to his constituency as 'mini-Pakistan'. However, he maintained that his comments were not accurately reported.
The same year, Hakim's name popped up in the Narada sting operation after he was allegedly seen accepting bribes on video. The following year, the CBI questioned him in connection with the case and arrested him after the 2021 Assembly polls. The TMC leader received bail from the Calcutta High Court in the case in May 2021.
In 2023, the CBI raided Hakim's house in connection with alleged irregularities in KMC recruitment, prompting him to accuse the BJP of 'using central agencies to harass him over his refusal to bow down before them'.
Last November, Hakim was forced to apologise after he faced sharp criticism for his alleged derogatory remarks about the BJP's Haroa bypoll candidate Rekha Patra, an alleged sexual harassment victim from Sandeshkhali. The following month, he claimed that Muslims did not consider themselves a minority. 'We believe that with the blessings of the Almighty, one day we will become a bigger majority than what the current majority population is,' he said, reportedly even leaving Banerjee upset. The comment led to the TMC distancing itself from Hakim and saying that his remarks 'do not reflect the party's position or ideology'.
Seen by many as an 'one-man army' in the port area, which comprises areas such as Khiderpore and Metiabruz, Hakim's propensity to get into controversies has failed to diminish his stature within the TMC as its powerful minority face and key strategist.
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