(Image source from: ANI)
Bengal's Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's last move - her decision not to step down from her role - concluded with an unexpected turn of events as Governor RN Ravi disbanded the state's legislative assembly. The assembly's term was set to finish just after midnight on Thursday. In the evening, the Raj Bhavan released a letter that had been sent out the previous day "for general information. " The brief notice stated: "Using the authority given to me by sub-clause (b) of Clause (2) of Article 174 of the Constitution of India, I hereby dissolve the Legislative Assembly of West Bengal effective from the 7th of May, 2026. " According to Article 172 of the Constitution, the assembly gets dissolved after its five-year term ends, allowing the outgoing Council of Ministers to remain in a caretaker role until the new government is sworn in. However, due to the significant controversy surrounding the assembly election's results in Bengal and Banerjee's announcement that she wouldn’t resign, many are questioning why she should be allowed to stay in a caretaker role. BJP leaders have demanded her removal.
Her decision not to resign - something never seen before in the nation’s election history - has created a lot of uncertainty about her position. While it is true that Banerjee can be removed according to the Constitution - at least until the election results are finalized - this action falls to the Governor to carry out. Once the Election Commission certifies the results, a Chief Minister can no longer hold their position unless they are in a caretaker capacity. The BJP, which recently received strong support in the state assembly elections, is likely set to have its cabinet sworn in on Saturday, which would normally mean that a caretaker government would continue for an additional two days.
On Tuesday evening - just a day after her party faced a major defeat in the state assembly elections - Banerjee claimed that she hadn't actually lost and that the BJP's success was due to "theft. "
"I haven’t lost, so I will not go to Raj Bhavan. I will not resign," she stated to the press during a conference. This caused a significant political split, with the Opposition supporting her while various BJP leaders called for her removal – a decision that only the Governor can make. Earlier today, the Trinamool Congress declared their intention to take legal action to contest the assembly election results that ended their three terms in leadership.
