Mamata Banerjee says she wanted to step down as the West Bengal chief minister, but her party Trinamool Congress refused to accept her resignation.
In her first media call after the national election on Saturday (May 25), she said she did not want to continue as chief minister and had told the party that, reports NDTV.
"I have told my party, for six months I have been unable to work. I was a powerless Chief Minister. I cannot accept that. I don't want to continue as Chief Minister. The chair is nothing for me. Party symbol is most important for me," Mamata told reporters.
The BJP scored a remarkable tally in West Bengal, a long-term Left stronghold turned Trinamool territory. It won 18 of the state's 42 Lok Sabha seats, in a massive improvement over its 2014 tally of two seats. Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool won only a few more, 22.
Mamata Banerjee questioned the fairness of the election.
"I can only continue if people are willing to take a bold step. We need to increase our vote share. BJP's vote has come from the Left. This is mathematics," said the Chief Minister.
The BJP has won 303 seats in the 543-seat Lok Sabha and along with its allies, it has 352.
"I can't accept this. How can BJP win so many seats in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana? People are scared to speak but I am not."
Accusing the Modi administration of creating an "emergency-like" situation in the state, Mamata claimed central forces worked against her party.
“Hindu-Muslim division was done and votes were divided. We complained to the EC but nothing was looked into," she was quoted to have said by the Times Now News.
Earlier in the day, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi offered to quit from his post following the party's debacle in polls, but the senior party officials rejected it and instead called for major internal shake-up.