A day after the Bhratiya Janata Party won a landslide victory in West Bengal, the Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday issued a notification for the constitution of a new assembly in the state. This marks the completion of the electoral process in the state.
The poll body has sent the notification to the governor of West Bengal, RN Ravi, formally marking the end of the election cycle. The notification has set the stage for the formation of a new government, as the Governor can now invite the leader of the party with a mandate to form the government.
A senior EC official said the issuance of the notification is a key constitutional step after the declaration of results. "With this, the process of constituting the new assembly in West Bengal is complete from the commission's end. It enables the next steps in government formation as per laid-down procedures," the official said.
The official added that the commission ensured adherence to all norms during the conduct of the elections.
"The entire exercise, from polling to counting, was carried out in a free, fair and transparent manner, in line with the statutory framework," he said.
The notification paves the way for the swearing-in of 293 elected representatives and the formation of the new government in the state, officials added.
The tenure of the 17th Assembly is ending on May 7. After the notification, the next step is for the Governor to dissolve the current Assembly.
The results have triggered a row in the state as the outgoing Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, held a press conference on Tuesday and raised questions on the mandate, saying that she was defeated by a conspiracy and not by the public mandate.
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She alleges mass irregularities in the poll process, referring to the Chief Election Commissioner as "the villain of the elections." In a bold remark, she even refused to step down from the chief minister's post. Although she has legal ways to challenge the results, constitutionally, she has very little in her hands.
(With PTI Inputs)