WEST BENGAL chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday refused to resign after her party lost the state assembly election to prime minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), saying she had “not been defeated”.
The BJP defeated Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC), which has governed West Bengal since 2011, winning more than two-thirds of the 294 assembly seats when votes were counted on Monday.
The BJP has never ruled West Bengal, which borders Bangladesh, and the victory is being seen as a major political gain for the party in eastern India.
The TMC’s tally dropped to 80 seats from 215. Banerjee also lost her own seat.
Banerjee alleged that around 100 seats were “forcibly taken” from her party and accused the Election Commission of being “biased”. She did not provide evidence for the allegations.
“I will not resign, I did not lose... officially, through the Election Commission, they (the BJP) can defeat us, but morally, we won the election,” she told a news briefing.
West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal described the allegations as “baseless”. BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, who defeated Banerjee, said “everything is mentioned in the constitution”.
Under the Indian constitution, the state’s governor can ask Banerjee to resign or wait until her term ends, after which newly elected lawmakers would be sworn in and the process of forming a new government would begin.
Banerjee’s term is set to end on Thursday.
A defeated candidate in an Indian state election can challenge the result in court on grounds including corrupt practices, improper acceptance or rejection of nominations or votes, candidate disqualification, or non-compliance with election laws affecting the result.
Banerjee did not say whether she would challenge the result in court.
Modi, home minister Amit Shah and several BJP leaders campaigned in the state for weeks, focusing on issues including illegal immigration from Bangladesh and the state’s economy under Banerjee.
The election result was followed by political violence in the state, with four people killed in clashes after the BJP celebrated its victory, according to police and party officials on Wednesday.
The BJP won 206 of the 294 assembly seats in the state of more than 100 million people, according to results announced on Monday, marking its first victory in West Bengal.
Police said clashes between rival party supporters broke out in Kolkata after the results were announced.
The BJP said two of its workers were killed, while the TMC said two of its workers were beaten to death.
“Two of our workers were killed after the election results were announced on Monday,” BJP state leader Samik Bharracharya told AFP, adding that the party is “for peace”.
The TMC, in a statement on social media, referred to the “brutal murder” of two party workers.
“Our party offices were attacked in several areas of the state,” TMC spokesman Narendranath Chakrabort told AFP.
“Two of the victims were grassroots political workers.”
A senior police officer, who was not authorised to speak to reporters, confirmed four deaths in the clashes and said one officer had been shot in the leg.
The political dispute over Banerjee’s refusal to resign continued on Wednesday, with opposition leaders backing her stand and the BJP criticising the move.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut supported Banerjee, calling it part of her protest against the Centre and the Election Commission of India.
Speaking to reporters, Raut said it was necessary to unite against the “dictatorship of the Centre and partisan behaviour of the Election Commission”.
“The poll body has become a slave of the Centre,” the Rajya Sabha MP alleged.
Maharashtra minister and BJP leader Mangal Prabhat Lodha said Banerjee’s refusal to resign after losing the assembly election amounted to disregarding constitutional norms.
“The nationalist people of Bengal have taught her a strong lesson,” he said.
Meanwhile, senior TMC leaders and newly elected MLAs met at Banerjee’s residence in Kolkata on Wednesday evening to discuss strategy and allocation of responsibilities after the party’s election setback.
TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee attended the meeting.
TMC spokesperson and Beliaghata MLA Kunal Ghosh said, “All decisions regarding our future responsibilities rest with Mamata Banerjee.”
(With inputs from agencies)
