Former CM, Current Bio? Mamata Banerjee Retains Title Online After Bengal Assembly Dissolution

Mamata Banerjee officially lost her position as Chief Minister of West Bengal after Governor RN Ravi announced the dissolution of the state Legislative Assembly on Thursday evening, bringing the previous Trinamool Congress government to an end.

With the Assembly dissolved, the Cabinet headed by Banerjee also automatically ceased to exist. Her official social media accounts on X and Facebook, however, continued to identify her as the ‘Chief Minister of West Bengal’.

The profile descriptions on both platforms still referred to her as the ‘Founder Chairperson All India Trinamool Congress’ and ‘Honourable Chief Minister, West Bengal’.

Banerjee had earlier indicated that she would not follow the conventional process of resigning after the election defeat.

Addressing a press conference on May 5, a day after the Assembly election results, the former CM said she did not believe the outcome reflected the actual public mandate.

The BJP secured a sweeping victory in the West Bengal Assembly elections, ending the Trinamool Congress’ 15-year rule in the state.

Banerjee herself lost from Bhabanipur to BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari by more than 15,000 votes. Her stance following the election drew comparisons with the conduct of Late Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, former West Bengal Chief Minister, after the 2011 Assembly polls, which ended the Left Front’s 34-year rule.

On May 13, 2011, even before the final declaration of results, Bhattacharjee had visited Raj Bhavan and submitted his resignation to then Governor MK Narayanan after it became clear that the Left Front had lost power.

According to political accounts from that period, Bhattacharjee travelled to Raj Bhavan in the official bulletproof vehicle allotted to him as Chief Minister, but returned in a party vehicle provided by the CPI(M) after resigning. He had also reportedly thanked his security personnel and requested them not to continue on his official duty.

BJP Reacts to Developments

Reacting to the current political developments, Union Minister and former Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar praised Bhattacharjee’s conduct and contrasted it with Banerjee’s present actions.

Majumdar said Bhattacharjee, despite political differences, was known for honesty and integrity and was not driven by attachment to power.

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