RGV shocked as Mamata Banerjee refuses to resign after Bengal poll defeat

Ram Gopal Varma criticised Mamata Banerjee after she refused to resign following the West Bengal election result. Her rejection of the verdict, along with allegations against the BJP and the Election Commission, has sharpened the political flashpoint.

In Short

• The BJP won 207 seats in West Bengal
• The TMC fell to 80 seats after ruling Bengal for 15 years
• RGV wrote a note about Mamata Banerjee's refusal to resign

Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma said he was shocked after Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee refused to resign as West Bengal Chief Minister following her party's defeat in the 2026 Assembly elections, the results of which were announced on Monday. The BJP won 207 seats, comfortably crossing the halfway mark of 148, while the TMC, which had been in power for 15 years, was reduced to 80.

Banerjee rejected the outcome and accused the BJP and the Election Commission of "looting" the democratic process, while insisting that her party remained the moral victor. Responding to her remarks, Varma said democracy was about institutions and that attacking them amounted to attacking democracy.

In a post on X, Varma wrote, "After so many decades in politics and 15 years as CM, I can’t believe that @MamataOfficial is ignoring that democracy by its very DNA is about institutions and attacking them amounts to attacking democracy (sic)." He was reacting after Banerjee refused to step down and accused the BJP of ‘looting’ the elections.

Addressing the media on Tuesday, Banerjee said, "I will not resign. I did not lose. I will not go to Raj Bhavan... the question doesn't arise. We didn't lose the election. They can defeat us officially through the Election Commission, but morally we won the election," she asserted.

She also alleged that she was "manhandled and kicked in the belly" during the counting process, and claimed that CCTV cameras were intentionally disabled while her agents were assaulted.

Banerjee further said, "My target is very clear. I will strengthen the INDIA team, just like a small person. I don't have any chair now, so I am a commoner. So, you cannot tell me that I am using your chair. I am now a free bird. I gave my entire life in service to the people, even in these 15 years I have not withdrawn one paisa of pension. I am not taking one paisa of salary also. But now, I am a free bird. So, I have to do some work, which I will manage to do."

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday lauded the BJP's performance in the West Bengal Assembly polls. The results marked a major political shift in the state, even as Banerjee disputed the verdict and refused to resign.

- Ends