KOLKATA, May 7: As outgoing West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee refused to submit her resignation following the Assembly election results, Governor RN Ravi on Thursday dissolved the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, paving the way for the formation of a new government in the state.
The Governor issued an order dissolving the Assembly with effect from May 7, even as the BJP, which secured a landslide majority and is set to form its first government in the state, intensified preparations for the swearing-in ceremony.
According to BJP sources, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is expected to arrive in Kolkata later in the day, while a meeting of newly-elected BJP legislators is likely to be held tomorrow to elect the legislative party leader.
The political developments came a day after Mamata Banerjee addressed a meeting of newly-elected MLAs of her party and declared that she would not resign from the post despite the electoral setback.
Trinamool Congress sources said Banerjee alleged that party candidates “were forcefully defeated” and claimed that more than 1,500 Trinamool Congress offices had been “hijacked”.
She further alleged that the state had witnessed “not an election but an atrocity” and asserted that the Trinamool Congress had “morally” defeated the BJP.
“After the Bengal INDIA team is united now. I won’t resign. Let them dismiss me. I want this to be a black day. We have to be strong. On the first day of the Assembly, wear black clothes. Those who betrayed will be removed from the party. I am laughing. I defeated them morally. I am a free bird. I worked for all. We might have lost, but we will fight. HM and PM are directly involved,” Mamata Banerjee said, according to TMC sources.
The TMC chief also claimed she was “heckled and pushed” during the election period and accused multiple agencies of acting in favour of the BJP.
Akhilesh meets Mamata
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday met Mamata at her Kalighat residence and expressed solidarity with the party leadership following its defeat in the West Bengal assembly polls, while alleging that the elections in the state were conducted on the “Uttar Pradesh model” through intimidation and manipulation.
“You have not lost. The fight to save democracy will continue, and we stand beside you,” Yadav was heard telling Banerjee during the meeting, sources present there said. (Agencies)
