Outgoing West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee declared on Tuesday that she won't resign from the position despite losing a landslide election to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) a day before. Experts said her dramatic declaration meant little constitutionally and was more a political stunt.
The BJP had swept to a historic triumph in West Bengal for the first time on Monday, marking the first time the eastern province had turned to the political right since independence. The landslide – which saw the BJP craft an unprecedented consolidation of Hindu voters, make inroads into Banerjee's south Bengal bastion, capitalise on resentment against grassroots corruption, and bank on 15 years of anti-incumbency – saw Banerjee lose her own seat of Bhabanipur to BJP's Suvendu Adhikari by 15,000 votes.
BJP leaders said the new government was likely to be sworn in on May 9, two days after the term of the old assembly expires, and coinciding with the birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore. The new state government secretariat is likely to return to Writers' Buildings after functioning from the Banerjee-built Nabanna across the Hoogly for 13 years.
Experts said the unusual announcement will mean little though it showed little respect for established processes from a senior leader who was a three-time chief minister. The current assembly dissolves automatically on May 7 and the Election Commission has already notified new assemblies in all five regions that went to the polls last month.
