A major twist has emerged in West Bengal politics. After suffering a heavy defeat in the Assembly elections, Mamata Banerjee made an unexpected announcement. Despite the election results, she declared that she will not resign from the Chief Minister’s post, which she has held for the past fifteen years. She stated that her party had achieved a “moral victory” in the elections and made it clear that she would neither go to the Raj Bhavan nor step down from her position. This statement has triggered a major political sensation. In simple terms, experts believe that a constitutional crisis may now arise in West Bengal. Under normal circumstances, any party must prove its majority on the floor of the Assembly. However, Mamata Banerjee currently does not have that position. This means she is expected to resign. But since she has refused to step down, all eyes are now on how the Governor will respond to the situation.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Mamata Banerjee launched a strong attack on the Election Commission of India. The TMC chief alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party won the West Bengal elections through conspiracies. She accused the Election Commission of acting as an agent of the BJP and described it as the “main villain” in the election. She insisted that she had not truly lost the election and therefore saw no reason to resign. Addressing her first press conference after the election results, Mamata Banerjee alleged that the Chief Election Commissioner played a negative role in the process. She claimed that Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were “looted” in Bengal and questioned how the machines still had 80–90% battery even after polling was completed.
She further alleged that officials carried out raids on her party and arrested workers two days before polling. Referring to the Bhabanipur constituency, she claimed that she was deliberately defeated as part of a planned strategy. She accused the BJP of misusing the Election Commission to secure victory and said she had never seen such elections in her life. Mamata also alleged that TMC workers were attacked at counting centers and that she herself faced threats. She claimed that 9 million votes were removed from the electoral rolls (SIR), and after approaching the court, 3.2 million votes were restored. According to her, the BJP used multiple strategies to defeat TMC and “looted” up to 100 seats. She added that the INDIA alliance stands firmly with her in this entire episode. After the election results, leaders like Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi spoke to her, while Akhilesh Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav, and Hemant Soren also extended their support over phone calls. She made it clear that she will continue to remain part of the INDIA alliance.