A day after the Trinamool Congress suffered a crushing defeat in the West Bengal Assembly elections, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said she would not resign, claiming she had not truly lost and alleging there was a “forceful attempt” to defeat her party.
Her remarks came as the Bharatiya Janata Party prepared to form its first-ever government in the state following a historic landslide victory.
State BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya announced that the oath-taking ceremony for the new chief minister will be held on May 9, coinciding with Rabindranath Tagore’s birth anniversary.
“The Prime Minister has already announced the day — Pochishe Boisakh, May 9. It is Rabindranath Tagore’s birthday. It was our old commitment that we would run the government from Writers’ Buildings,” Bhattacharya said.
BJP scripts historic win
The BJP secured a sweeping mandate, winning 207 of West Bengal’s 294 Assembly seats, while the Trinamool Congress was reduced to just 80.
The result marks the first time the BJP will form a government in West Bengal and makes Narendra Modi the first sitting prime minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to lead his party to victory in the state.
Mamata challenges outcome
Despite the result, Banerjee refused to visit Raj Bhavan to submit her resignation.
“If we have not lost the election, then why should I go to Raj Bhavan? I am not taking oath. Why should I resign? We didn’t lose,” she told reporters.
She alleged that the defeat was engineered and said her party’s real battle had been against the Election Commission rather than the BJP.
According to Election Commission figures, Banerjee lost the Bhabanipur seat to BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari by over 15,000 votes.
BJP names observers for CM selection
The BJP parliamentary board has appointed Union Home Minister Amit Shah as central observer for the election of the legislature party leader, who will become the next chief minister.
Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has been named co-observer.
The BJP has not yet announced its chief ministerial pick, though speculation continues over several senior leaders.
TMC alleges post-result violence
The Trinamool Congress also accused BJP supporters of vandalism following the results.
The party shared a video allegedly showing a bulldozer demolishing a shop near Kolkata’s New Market area.
TMC claimed BJP supporters rampaged through parts of the city, damaging shops and vandalising party offices.
The allegations have not been independently verified.
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