A supporter dismantles an election billboard bearing a portrait of Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee after the party failed to secure a majority in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly election, in Kolkata, on May 4, 2026.
| Photo Credit: AP
Around 3 p.m. on Monday (May 4, 2026), as counting trends indicated that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was heading towards a massive victory in West Bengal, a flustered Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was seen rushing towards a girls’ high school in south Kolkata, a counting centre for the Bhabanipur Assembly seat. Walking in, she raised suspicions of malpractice, claiming that the counting had abruptly stopped and that the vote numbers had remained stagnant for a long time.
Hours later, when her rival Suvendu Adhikari secured a marginal lead over her, the Trinamool Congress chairperson walked out of the counting venue. “It is an immoral victory,” she said, accusing the Election Commission of doing everything wrong.
Published – May 04, 2026 10:37 pm IST
