Mamata alleges ‘conspiracy’ in Bengal poll defeat; refuses to resign as CM

KOLKATA: Following a major electoral setback, Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee has struck a defiant note, refusing to resign as Chief Minister and labelling the Assembly election results as a "conspiracy" orchestrated by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in collusion with the Election Commission (EC).

Dismissing the outcome as a "skewed mandate," Mamata announced her decision to boycott any meeting with the Governor at Raj Bhavan. "I have not been defeated, and I will not tender my resignation. What we witnessed was not a democratic exercise but the use of brute force," Mamata Banerjee asserted.

The TMC leader levelled grave allegations regarding her treatment during the polls, claiming she was physically assaulted at a polling station and subjected to harassment. She further alleged irregularities at the counting centres, claiming that CCTV cameras were deliberately deactivated to facilitate foul play.

Directing her sharpest criticism toward the poll panel, Mamata remarked, "The Election Commission is playing a partisan game. My primary adversary in this battle is the Commission, not the BJP." She further alleged that 90 lakh voters were initially purged from the electoral rolls, with only 32 lakh reinstated following judicial intervention.

Mamata also accused the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister of direct interference, claiming that the administrative machinery was compromised by the strategic transfer of IAS and IPS officers. Drawing parallels with previous elections in Maharashtra, Haryana, and Bihar, she alleged that the Centre’s overreach resulted in the TMC being "forcibly deprived" of nearly 100 seats.

Despite these allegations, the official figures reflect a significant shift in the state's political landscape. The BJP secured a landslide victory with 207 seats, while the Trinamool Congress was relegated to 80 seats. In a major personal blow, Mamata Banerjee also lost her home turf of Bhabanipur.