Mamata Banerjee Officially Becomes Former West Bengal Chief Minister After Assembly Dissolution

Kolkata, May 2026 : Mamata Banerjee officially ceased to be the Chief Minister of West Bengal on Thursday after Governor R. N. Ravi announced the dissolution of the state Legislative Assembly, bringing an end to the Trinamool Congress government that had ruled the state for the last 15 years.

The Governor’s announcement automatically dissolved the outgoing state Cabinet headed by Mamata Banerjee following the conclusion of the Assembly’s tenure and the BJP’s decisive victory in the recently concluded West Bengal Assembly elections.

Despite the formal constitutional development, Mamata Banerjee has continued to identify herself as the “Chief Minister of West Bengal” on her official social media accounts, including X and Facebook. The “About” section of both profiles still describes her as “Founder Chairperson All India Trinamool Congress. Honourable Chief Minister, West Bengal.”

Her stand appears consistent with remarks she made during a press conference on May 5, a day after the election results were declared. The results marked a historic victory for the BJP and the end of the Trinamool Congress’ 15-year rule in West Bengal.

At the press conference, Mamata Banerjee had indicated that she would not follow the conventional practice of submitting her resignation to the Governor, stating that she did not consider the election results to reflect the true public mandate. Her comments made it clear that she was unwilling to accept either the Trinamool Congress’ defeat in the state or her personal defeat from the Bhabanipur Assembly constituency.

In Bhabanipur, Banerjee lost to senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari by a margin of more than 15,000 votes in one of the most closely watched contests of the election.

The current developments have drawn comparisons with the conduct of former West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee following the defeat of the CPI(M)-led Left Front government in 2011.

On May 13, 2011, when it became evident that the Left Front’s 34-year rule in West Bengal was coming to an end, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee reportedly visited Raj Bhavan in the early hours of the morning and formally submitted his resignation to the then Governor M. K. Narayanan even before the final results were officially announced.

Political observers often recall the symbolic gesture that followed. Bhattacharjee had arrived at Raj Bhavan in the official bulletproof vehicle provided to him as Chief Minister. However, after tendering his resignation, he chose not to use the government vehicle again and instead left in a car arranged by his party, the CPI(M). Before leaving, he reportedly thanked the security personnel assigned to him and informed them that their official duty toward him had ended.

Union Minister of State and former West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar also referred to the contrast between the two leaders while reacting to the latest developments.

“There cannot be any comparison between late Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Mamata Banerjee. Despite ideological differences, I have always acknowledged that Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee was a man of integrity and honesty. He was never power-hungry, and he demonstrated that throughout his life,” Majumdar said.

With the Assembly dissolved and political transition underway, attention has now shifted to the BJP legislature party meeting, where the party is expected to formally elect its leader and pave the way for the formation of West Bengal’s first BJP government.