Kolkata, New Delhi, INDIA. New York, USA.
Business To Business, Kolkata, 5th May, 2026: Alleging that the West Bengal Assembly poll verdict was “not a people’s mandate but a conspiracy,” Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday refused to resign as chief minister, setting the stage for a potential constitutional and political confrontation in the state.
A day after the Bharatiya Janata Party secured a landslide victory with 207 seats in the 294-member Assembly—ending the All India Trinamool Congress’s uninterrupted 15-year rule—Banerjee dismissed the outcome as “engineered” and claimed her party was effectively fighting the Election Commission of India rather than the BJP. The TMC managed to win 80 seats.
“Why should I step down? We have not lost. The mandate has been looted. Where does the question of resignation arise?” she said, reiterating her refusal to vacate office.