In a dramatic political development, RN Ravi on Thursday dissolved the West Bengal Legislative Assembly with effect from May 7, 2026, bringing an official end to the tenure of the outgoing House amid an escalating constitutional confrontation in the state.
The dissolution comes against the backdrop of a fierce political deadlock after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee refused to resign following the Trinamool Congress’ crushing defeat in the recently concluded Assembly elections. The ruling party’s refusal to concede defeat had triggered intense debate over constitutional propriety and the Governor’s powers.
The current Assembly was constituted in May 2021 after the All India Trinamool Congress returned to power for a third consecutive term under Banerjee’s leadership. However, the political landscape shifted dramatically in the 2026 polls as the Bharatiya Janata Party secured a sweeping mandate, winning 206 seats in the 294-member House — comfortably above the majority mark of 148.
The official notification issued by the Governor invoked sub-clause (b) of Clause (2) of Article 174 of the Constitution of India, which empowers the Governor to dissolve the Legislative Assembly.
“In exercise of the power conferred on me by sub-clause (b) of Clause (2) of Article 174 of the Constitution of India, I hereby dissolve the Legislative Assembly of West Bengal with effect from 07th of May, 2026,” the notification stated.
The order was subsequently published in an extraordinary issue of the official gazette by the Department of Parliamentary Affairs, Government of West Bengal, formally completing the dissolution process after the conclusion of the two-phase Assembly elections.
The move assumes greater significance because it follows Banerjee’s categorical refusal to vacate office despite the electoral setback. Addressing a press conference earlier this week, the TMC supremo alleged that the verdict was “not a people’s mandate but a conspiracy” and claimed widespread irregularities during counting.
A day after the BJP registered a historic landslide victory, ending the TMC’s uninterrupted 15-year rule in the state, Banerjee asserted that her party had not been defeated politically but had been targeted through manipulation of the electoral process.
“Why should I step down? We have not lost. The mandate has been looted. Where does the question of resignation arise?” she said, while accusing the Election Commission and administrative machinery of facilitating what she described as an “engineered” outcome.
Banerjee further alleged that nearly 100 seats had been “looted” and claimed that the counting process was deliberately slowed to demoralise TMC workers and candidates.
“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,” she declared defiantly.
The BJP, meanwhile, dismissed the allegations as an attempt to undermine the democratic verdict delivered by the people of West Bengal. Party leaders maintained that the electorate had voted decisively for political change after 15 years of TMC rule.
The constitutional standoff had intensified speculation over the Governor’s possible intervention, especially as the BJP prepared to stake claim to form the next government. Political observers noted that the dissolution order effectively clears the path for the formation of a new Assembly and government following the declaration of results.
The TMC was reduced to just 80 seats in what has been described as one of the most significant electoral reversals in the party’s history, while the BJP emerged as the dominant political force in the state for the first time.
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