End of an Era: 15-year TMC rule dissolves by Governor

Mamata Banerjee’s Tenure as CM Ends

TMC rule concludes (TOI Image)

Sneha Barua

8 May 2026: West Bengal Governor RN Ravi dissolved the state assembly on Thursday as its five-year term ended. He took this step as the ex CM Mamata Banerjee of Trinamool Congress refused to resign even after her party lost elections in 2026.

In the absence of her formal resignation, the governor had no option left. “In exercise of the powers conferred upon the Governor under sub-clause (b) of clause 2 of Article 174 of the Constitution of India, RN Ravi has issued an order to dissolve the West Bengal Legislative Assembly with effect from May 7, 2026 a statement by the Governor’s office in Kolkata reported by Hindustan Times on Thursday.

BJP Leaders have confirmed that the oath-taking ceremony by the new Chief Minister is likely to take place at Kolkata’s iconic Brigade Parade Grounds on May 9. Just two days after the outgoing assembly expires, and coinciding with the birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore.

A senior government official said that the governor would be considered the state’s executive head in the interim period on 7 May, according to Hindustan Times.  The stunning victory of the BJP was due to the consolidation of Hindu voters, making inroads into Banerjee’s south Bengal bastion, capitalising on resentment against grassroot corruption, and bank on 15 years of anti-incumbency, which caused Banerjee to lose her own seat of Bhawanipore to the BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari by 15,000 votes.

​TMC accused the Election Commission of India and the central police forces after losing the assembly elections. “If we have not lost the election, then why should I go to Raj Bhavan? I am not taking an oath. And, why do I have to resign? We didn’t lose. It is their forceful attempt to defeat us. Our fight was not against the BJP but against the EC,” she said on Tuesday at her residence, reported by the Times of India. 

​TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said her refusal to resign was a “language of protest” in a democracy on Wednesday reported by Times of India. It has been anticipated that the legal battle over Bengal might escalate to the courts.