After losing from the Bhabanipur constituency, Mamata Banerjee says she will not resign as chief minister of West Bengal, claiming that the Trinamool Congress(TMC) won the election morally.
Mamata has been the CM for the past 15 years.
While holding a press meet on Tuesday, a day after being defeated by BJP candidate Suvendu Adhikari, Mamata alleged the BJP victory was forceful. “Why should I go? We did not lose the election for me to resign. The question does not arise,” said Mamata when asked whether she would be going to tender her resignation to the Governor.
"The question of my resignation does not arise, as we were defeated not by a public mandate but by a conspiracy. I did not lose, I will not go to Lok Bhavan," she said.
"Why should I resign? We have not lost. Votes have been looted. Where does the question of resignation arise?" the TMC chief asserted.
She alleged large-scale irregularities in counting, claiming that nearly 100 seats were "looted" and that the process was deliberately slowed to break her party's morale.
"We were not fighting the BJP; we were fighting the Election Commission which was working for the BJP. I have never seen such an election in my entire political career," she said.
"A black chapter in history has been created. The Chief Election Commissioner has become the villain," Mamata said.
She said she will spread the news about the BJP’s atrocities and questioned the the heavy deployment of the Central Armed Police Force(CAPF) during the elections.
She alleged that central agencies and the authorities acted in tandem, claiming that "raids, transfers and bias" skewed the playing field, and questioned the neutrality of institutions.
Banerjee, however, indicated that constitutional options remain open. "They can take action as per constitutional norms," she said, without elaborating.
Banerjee said she would now focus on strengthening the opposition alliance at the national level.
"INDIA bloc leaders called me up to express solidarity. Sonia ji and Rahul Gandhi have spoken to me," Banerjee said, adding that she also received calls from leaders such as Arvind Kejriwal, Uddhav Thackeray, Akhilesh Yadav and Hemant Soren.
Meanwhile, the BJP top leadership is in a huddle with winning candidates, including Suvendu Adhikari, to decide who will be the CM. The oath-taking ceremony is expected to be on May 9 in Kolkata.
—With PTI inputs
