KOLKATA/NEW DELHI: Alleging “unusually high” battery levels in EVMs and calling the election a “fixed match”, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday refused to accept the assembly poll verdict, asserting that her party had secured a “moral victory” despite the outcome.Addressing her first press meet after the Bharatiya Janata Party’s landslide win, Banerjee claimed large-scale manipulation of the electoral process, alleging it had been rigged by the Election Commission, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah to ensure the defeat of the All India Trinamool Congress.The TMC won 80 seats in the 294-member assembly, while the BJP secured 207.“We have not lost — we have been made to lose. Our fight was not just against BJP but against the EC. The chief election commissioner was the villain of this election. This is murder of democracy,” Banerjee said. Asked if she would resign, she shot back: “Morally, we have won. So why should I resign? I was on the streets, I will remain on the streets. I won’t leave the battlefield.”
She questioned the integrity of the voting process, pointing to EVMs showing battery levels of 80–90% when unsealed for counting, which she said was improbable after 10–12 hours of polling. A 15-member committee of party MPs and MLAs will probe the alleged irregularities, she added.Reacting to her remarks, chief electoral officer Manoj Agarwal said Banerjee, having served multiple terms as MP and MLA, understands constitutional provisions and that “the law applies equally to all.”Legal experts stressed that the constitutional position remains clear. Former advocate-general Jayanta Mitra said a chief minister must step down after losing the people’s mandate, noting the governor can act under Article 164 of the Constitution of India if she does not resign. Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi said the remarks may be rhetorical but do not alter the legal requirement to resign.Singhvi added that while election petitions can be filed, such legal remedies do not override the obligation to vacate office once results are certified. Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi said constitutional morality leaves no scope for parallel leadership and requires the incumbent to make way for the majority party.Responding to Banerjee’s stance, BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, who defeated her in Bhowanipore, said the Constitution already spells out the course of action, while party spokesperson Debjit Sarkar said the BJP would not “waste words” on statements that disregard it.A senior TMC leader said the party is weighing legal options, suggesting that an immediate resignation could be interpreted in court as acceptance of the verdict.Banerjee also alleged she was manhandled by central forces at a counting centre, a claim rejected by Kolkata (South) district election officer Randheer Kumar, who said CCTV footage showed no such incident.She said she had received messages of support from several INDIA bloc leaders, including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Uddhav Thackeray, Akhilesh Yadav, Hemant Soren and Arvind Kejriwal.
