|HT|
West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), which emerged victorious in the recently held Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) elections, is likely to decide on Thursday who the next mayor of the state capital's civic body will be, as announced by chief minister Mamata Banerjee on December 21, when the counting of votes took place. “Our party will meet at 2pm on December 23, and select the mayor,” Banerjee, who also heads the TMC, had said on Tuesday, after the Trinamool pulled off a landslide win, securing 134 out of 144 wards, with three independents, who won their respective wards, also expected to join the party. The polling for the office of KMC mayor took place on December 19. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is the principal opposition party in West Bengal, won three wards, while the Congress and the Left were victorious on two each.
The Trinamool's overall vote share stood at 92.36 per cent.
Former Kolkata mayor Firhad Hakim, the transport minister of the eastern state and a key aide of CM Mamata, is reportedly the front-runner for the office.
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