On May 5th, 2026, Banerjee went further in her criticism of the election results. She stated the results were not valid, repeating her accusation that the BJP stole votes. She insists her party didn’t really lose the election. She herself lost in Bhabanipur by more than 15000 votes.
High-stakes accusations after a stinging loss
She described the Chief Election Commissioner as a ‘BJP agent’ and the ‘villain’ of the election, and said the election organization allowed illegal activity. In her words, it was a deal between the BJP and the Election Commission, and her party was up against all the powers that be.
She accuses the authorities of changing a lot of people in the administration and police. She says ‘they replaced all the IPS and IAS officers’ and ‘picked supporters from their own party.’
Targeting the Election Commission
Banerjee says many people were prevented from voting during a large-scale update of the voter rolls. She says “They removed 90 lakh (9 million) names from the SIR. We got 32 lakh (3.2 million) names put back on the list after going to court.”
She says people were pressured before the voting. She says “two days before the election they began arresting our supporters” and “raided places everywhere”.
Voter rolls and enforcement actions
She’s sowing doubt about the EVMs. She wonders how they had 80-90% power remaining after people voted, and accuses them of being used to ‘steal the EVM’ and ‘steal the people’s right to democracy’.
She made the same point in Kolkata: the EVMs had 80-90% charge after voting, and she presents this as proof that something was wrong with how things were done.
EVM questions and process integrity
She believes all these problems together show a trend. She calls the election ‘unfair, unpleasant and underhanded’, and says she’s never seen anything like it in all her time in politics.
Banerjee’s position makes it clear she’s going to continue fighting politically instead of accepting the outcome. She won’t resign because she believes the TMC didn’t lose and the official organizations let the voters down.
Her statements center the Election Commission in the controversy, with accusations covering removals from the voter lists, transfers of officials, arrests, raids and the security of the EVMs. This isn’t just about one seat or one state; Banerjee thinks this is happening all over the country.
Core claims in her own words
Banerjee’s headline assertions, as stated at her first press conference after the results, were blunt and sweeping:
– ‘CEC became the villain of this election’
– ‘PM and HM are also involved, direct interference’
– ‘They played dirty, nasty and mischievous games’
– ‘This is how they stole elections from Maharashtra, Haryana, Bihar and now Bengal’
What it means for West Bengal politics
Right now, the obvious result is a very tense atmosphere in West Bengal after the election. Banerjee’s accusations against the BJP and the Election Commission create new worries about whether to trust the election process, even though the official results are what they are.
