New Delhi: A day after declaration of results, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has sent notifications constituting new Assemblies in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal to the respective state Governors and Puducherry Lieutenant Governor, an official source said on Tuesday.
The terms of the Assemblies in these four states and Union Territory (UT) are ending between May 7 and June 15, 2026.
The ECI’s notifications pave the way for the leaders of the victorious parties in each of the states and the UT to stake a claim for government formation, before the end of the term of the previous state Assembly.
The West Bengal Assembly’s tenure ends on May 7, Tamil Nadu on May 10, Assam on May 20, Kerala on May 23 and Puducherry on June 15.
The ECI’s notifications come in the backdrop of outgoing West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleging wrongdoing in the just-concluded Assembly election in the state and refusing to tender her resignation.
Chief Minister Banerjee’s reluctance to gracefully hand over power to a democratically-elected successor contrasts with the decision by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan conceding defeat in elections and tendering their resignations to the respective Governors.
Speaking to media persons in Kolkata, Mamata Banerjee ruled out the possibility of voluntarily tendering a resignation to the Governor as the outgoing Chief Minister.
According to Chief Minister Banerjee, the “defeat” of Trinamool Congress this time, was not a “defeat” in the real sense as the poll results did not reflect the true public mandate.
“Why shall I resign now? We are not defeated in the true sense. The results are reflections of massive misappropriation and vote-looting. So, from where does the question of resignation arise,” Mamata Banerjee told media persons.
She claimed that after the poll results were declared on Monday night, she received solidarity calls from all top leaders of the constituents of the Opposition INDIA bloc.
According to Chief Minister Banerjee, top leaders from the Opposition INDIA Bloc like Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal, Akhilesh Yadav and Hemant Soren called her up and assured of support.
She also stressed the necessity of strengthening the Opposition INDIA Bloc to organise a movement nationally against the Bharatiya Janata Party and the NDA-ruled Centre.
(IANS)
