West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday spoke for the first time after her party’s electoral defeat, launching a scathing attack on the Election Commission and accusing it of attempting to “capture the mandate” at the behest of the BJP.
Addressing a press conference at her Kalighat residence, a visibly exhausted Banerjee appeared alongside her nephew Abhishek Banerjee and senior TMC leaders Derek O’Brien, Sovandeb Chatterjee, Firhad Hakim, Chandrima Bhattacharya, and Kalyan Banerjee. Minutes into her remarks, she switched to English, a clear signal that her message was aimed at a national audience.
Banerjee said leaders across the INDIA bloc, including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, had reached out to express support. She added that Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav is expected to visit Kolkata to stand by her in what she described as a fight against an “EC-BJP nexus”.
When asked whether she would visit Raj Bhavan, a defiant Banerjee ruled out stepping down. “We have not been defeated. I will not resign,” she said.
At her 30B Harish Chatterjee Street residence, the turnout followed a familiar pattern. Cameramen jostled for space inside the small office where she addressed the media, while reporters sat in the courtyard, listening through a speaker system. In the 28-minute press conference, Banerjee spoke for nearly 25 minutes before taking a few questions, one of which prompted her emphatic refusal to resign.
Yet, the atmosphere outside told a different story. Security deployment at her residence appeared visibly scaled down. The narrow lane leading to her home, opposite the Kalighat temple, is usually barricaded with guardrails, with strict restrictions on vehicle movement. On Tuesday afternoon, those curbs were noticeably relaxed.
In a striking departure from the norm, BJP supporters carrying party flags were seen walking through the lane outside her residence, an image that would have been unthinkable even 48 hours earlier. On the main road, groups of bike-borne BJP supporters rode past, raising “Jai Shri Ram” slogans.
It was a vivid snapshot of a rapidly shifting political landscape in West Bengal, one that has transformed dramatically in the span of a single day.
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