Kolkata: West Bengal Governor RN Ravi dissolved the state Assembly on Thursday evening, thereby ending the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government’s term.
With Mamata Banerjee refusing to resign, citing that the BJP had won the elections immorally by ‘looting’ over 100 seats and also accusing Election Commission of India (ECI) of committing atrocities, the Governor used the constitutional powers vested in him under Article 174 (2)(b) of the Constitution of India to issue a notification signalling the end of Mamata’s 15-year stint as West Bengal CM.
“I hereby dissolve the Legislative Assembly of West Bengal with effect from 7th May, 2026,” Ravi stated in the official notification issued in the Kolkata Gazette.
The term of the current Assembly was due to expire at midnight on Thursday.
The first-ever BJP government in West Bengal will be sworn in on May 9, the birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore.
Until the new chief minister is sworn in, the Governor will take interim charge of the state, according to former India government Secretary Jawhar Sircar.
Union Home minister Amit Shah will meet all 207 elected legislators of BJP on Friday to elect the leader.
Suvendu Adhikari, who beat Mamata by 15,000 votes in her home constituency Bhabanipore, is considered to be the frontrunner. Some of the other names doing the rounds are Agnimitra Paul, Swapan Dasgupta and Shamik Bhattacharya.
The day after results were declared, Mamata the question of resigning doesn’t arise as she had not lost the elections which had been rigged in favour of the BJP.
The TMC is considering legal action to challenge the result.
