West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee (TMC) accused the Election Commission of India of bias and vote rigging following her party's election defeat.

The allegations challenge the legitimacy of the democratic process in one of India's most politically volatile states. If the claims of systemic manipulation are substantiated, it could trigger legal challenges and widespread civil unrest across West Bengal.

Banerjee said the Election Commission failed to act against physical assaults that occurred during the vote counting process. She said the commission allowed or facilitated the manipulation of the election outcome to favor the BJP [1, 2, 3]. According to Banerjee, this manipulation included the removal of counting agents and the tampering of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) [1, 2, 3].

During a press conference, Banerjee referred to the commission as a "villain" [1]. She said the body demonstrated a clear bias in its oversight of the polling and counting phases.

Official results indicate a significant shift in the political landscape. The BJP won 286 seats across West Bengal, Assam, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala [3]. In West Bengal specifically, the TMC secured 69 seats [3].

Reports on the counting process remained inconsistent in certain areas. In the Bhabanipur constituency, some reports indicated that counting had begun, while other sources stated that the process was halted amid high political drama [3].

Banerjee has not yet resigned from her position despite the results. She said the electoral process was compromised by the commission's failure to maintain neutrality [1, 2].

“"villain"”

The refusal of a defeated Chief Minister to concede, paired with allegations of institutional bias, signals a deepening crisis of trust in India's electoral infrastructure. By targeting the Election Commission, Banerjee is shifting the narrative from a political loss to a systemic failure, which may serve as a strategy to maintain her political leverage and mobilize her base despite the numerical defeat.