West Bengal Governor R N Ravi on Thursday dissolved the state assembly at the end of his five-year term. The move comes days after Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee announced that she would not follow the tradition of going to the governor to hand over her resignation as chief minister of the state despite her landslide election loss to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
In the absence of her official resignation, there was no opportunity for the governor to ask her to continue as interim prime minister until her successor was sworn in.
“In exercise of the powers conferred on the Governor under Sub-Clause (b) of Clause 2 of Article 174 of the Constitution of India, the Governor of West Bengal RN Ravi has issued an order dissolving the West Bengal Legislative Assembly with effect from May 7, 2026,” a statement issued by the Governor’s Office in Kolkata said.
BJP leaders have indicated that the new government is likely to be sworn in at Kolkata’s iconic Brigade Parade Grounds on May 9, two days after the outgoing Assembly’s term ends and coinciding with Rabindranath Tagore’s birth anniversary.
A senior government official said that the Chief Secretary will run the administration under the general direction of the Governor in the interim period.
The BJP’s stunning victory – which saw the BJP consolidate the Hindu electorate in an unprecedented manner, make its way into Banerjee’s stronghold in south Bengal, tap into resentment against popular corruption, and build on fifteen years of anti-incumbency – led to Banerjee losing her seat in Bhabanipur to the BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari by 15,000 votes.
A day after the BJP won 207 seats against the TMC’s 80, Banerjee accused the Election Commission of India and the Central Police Forces of helping the BJP.
“If we do not lose the elections, why should I go to Raj Bhavan? I will not take oath. And why should I resign? We did not lose. It is their strong attempt to defeat us. Our fight was not against BIP but against the EC,” she told reporters on Tuesday at her residence.
Kunal Ghosh, TMC spokesman, said on Wednesday that her refusal to resign was a “language of protest” in a democracy.
“Mamata Didi not submitting her resignation is a language of protest. It is symbolic. It is a protest against the way the Election Commission tampered with the results in more than 100 constituencies while counting votes,” Ghosh told reporters on Wednesday.
