Governor dissolves Bengal assembly after Mamata Banerjee refuses to resign

West Bengal Governor R. N. Ravi dissolved the state assembly on Thursday (May 7) after CM Mamata Banerjee refused to resign following the assembly elections.

The polls saw Banerjee’s TMC swept away by the BJP, which won 207 seats, well beyond the majority mark to stake a claim at the government in the 294-seat assembly.

Mamata Banerjee, who ruled West Bengal for 15 years, slipped into denial mode after the Bhartiya Janata Party handed her the most spectacular electoral eviction notice. Aghast by the loss in Bhabanipur at the hands of BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari and TMC’s humiliating diminution to mere 80 seats, Mamata Banerjee manufactured a disgraceful and utterly needless constitutional crisis.

In a press conference on May 5, the outgoing Chief Minister refused to resign, accusing the BJP of ‘rigging’ and claiming that the TMC has won the elections ‘morally’.

‘I will not go to Raj Bhavan’: Flabbergasted by electoral drubbing, Mamata Banerjee resorts to victimhood drama

Following the BJP’s 207-seat historic win, it was expected, as per the constitutional and democratic norms, that the outgoing Chief Minister would tender resignation to the Governor. However, Mamata Banerjee resorted to victimhood theatrics and refused to resign.

Addressing the media on 5th May, Banerjee said, “If I had lost, I would have resigned. But if anyone thinks I will step down under pressure, that is not going to happen. We did not lose the election; it was a forceful attempt. Morally, we won the election.”

Banerjee went on to accuse Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah of “interfering” in Bengal elections. Furthermore, she called Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, the “villain of this election”.

Written by OpIndia Staff
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