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Kolkata: West Bengal Governor RN Ravi on Wednesday dissolved the state legislative assembly with immediate effect, formally ending the tenure of the Trinamool Congress government led by Mamata Banerjee.

The notification, published in the official Kolkata Gazette, stated that the resolution had been carried out under Article 174(2)(b) of the Constitution of India. The order came after the completion of the outgoing assembly’s term following the recently concluded state elections.

BJP Registers Historic Victory in Bengal

The development follows the Bharatiya Janata Party’s decisive victory in the West Bengal Assembly elections. The BJP secured 207 seats in the 294-member assembly, ending the Trinamool Congress’s uninterrupted 15-year rule in the state.

The TMC, led by Mamata Banerjee, was reduced to 80 seats, marking one of the party’s biggest electoral setbacks since coming to power in 2011.

With the assembly now dissolved, the process for the formation of a new government is expected to move forward in the coming days.

Mamata Banerjee Had Refused to Resign

The political atmosphere in the state intensified earlier this week after Mamata Banerjee publicly refused to resign as chief minister despite the election result.

Addressing a press conference in Kolkata, Banerjee alleged that the poll verdict had been “engineered” and claimed that the mandate had been “looted.” She accused the Election Commission and the BJP of irregularities during the counting process.

“No question of me resigning. We were defeated not by public mandate but by conspiracy,” Banerjee had said.

She also alleged that nearly 100 seats had been unfairly taken away from her party and claimed that the counting process had been deliberately slowed down.

Constitutional Process Moves Ahead

Constitutional experts had earlier stated that once the assembly’s term ended and the Governor initiated the formal process, the outgoing government could no longer continue in office.

The dissolution order now clears the way for the BJP to stake claim to form the government in West Bengal for the first time. Political observers expect the swearing-in ceremony of the new administration to take place soon.