After facing a historic defeat in the Assembly elections 2026, outgoing West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday held a public conference and announced that she will not resign and go to Raj Bhavan, as she claimed that the elections were rigged. She also alleged that the Bhartiya Janata Party looted the EVMs and they misbehaved with her. ‘Didi’ said that the TMC and other INDIA bloc leaders are standing in solidarity with her, and her next target is very clear — ‘She will soon start working towards strengthening the INDIA bloc.’
Mamata Banerjee said that she doesn’t have a chair now, so she is a commoner. “I am now a free bird. I gave my entire life in service to the people; even in these 15 years, I have not withdrawn one paisa of pension. I am not taking one paisa of salary either. But now, I am a free bird. So, I have to do some work, which I will manage to do.”
“Sad to say, CEC became the villain of this election to loot the democratic rights of the people and to loot the EVM. Can you tell me that after voting, EVM has an 80-90% charge? How is it possible? Two days before the election, they started arresting our people. They started raiding everywhere. They changed all IPS and IAS officers. They selected people from their party, and the BJP played the game directly with the Election Commission. It is a battle between the BJP and the Election Commission. We fought against all machinery. PM and HM are also involved in direct interference. They deleted 90 lakh names in the SIR. When we went to court, 32 lakh names were included…They played dirty, nasty, and mischievous games. I have never seen this type of election in my life,” she said.
Mamata Banerjee further alleged, “After the first round of counting, they started saying that the BJP is getting 195-200. You didn’t wait for the final result. You didn’t even wait for 5-6 rounds. After that campaign with the press media, the BJP went inside the polling station, and they started beating the people, the counting agents. When I came to know that all counting agents were withdrawn, I was leading by about 30,000, and about 5 rounds were left. We should have got more than 32,000…”
“Then the BJP candidate went inside along with 200 CRPF personnel and 200 outside goons, and then they beat up our people. Even women were not spared, and they snatched away all forms. When I came to know, I went there. They stopped my car, but I took another route. When I entered, the CRPF told me that I was not allowed to go. I said that I am a candidate…Then I complained to the RO that counting should be stopped immediately until normalcy is restored. I saw the DEO. I know that he gave a message to someone 15 days ago that ‘counting mein khel hoga’…I went inside for a few minutes. They kicked me in my belly, backside, and manhandled and assaulted me. That time CCTV was off…” she added.
Mamata Banerjee alleged that she was physically assaulted when she attempted to enter the counting centre. “When I learned about this, I tried to go there. Initially, my car was stopped in the Jodhpur Park area, but I took another route. When I reached, the CRPF personnel stopped me and said I was not allowed to enter. I told them that I was a candidate, yet neither I nor my agents were being allowed inside. It was all happening in a one-sided manner,” she said.
She added that she submitted a written complaint to the Returning Officer demanding that counting be stopped until normalcy was restored. “When I managed to enter briefly, I was physically assaulted, they kicked me in the stomach and from behind, abused me, and manhandled me. You cannot imagine what happened, especially since the CCTV cameras were switched off at that time,” she said.
Banerjee alleged that TMC offices had been targeted across the state following the election results. “Our party offices have been targeted and captured in several places. There were even attempts to take over our headquarters yesterday, including at Abhishek’s office, where incidents of stone-pelting and vandalism were reported,” she said. Warning against further intimidation, she added, “You cannot resort to such acts of intimidation and violence. If people are subjected to such harassment, across party lines and among all communities, castes, and religions, then they must understand that they may have to face similar resistance in the future. This approach is neither acceptable nor sustainable.”
