Mamata Banerjee to be sworn in as CM on 5 May; alleges Nandigram RO did not order recount as he 'feared for life'

Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee will be sworn in as the chief minister of West Bengal for the third time on 5 May at Raj Bhavan, Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar said on Monday.

Only a few invitees will be present at the programme because of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, he said.

Earlier, Banerjee tendered her resignation from the office of the chief minister to the governor following norms.

Taking note of communication @AITCofficial electing @MamataOfficial as leader of 17th WB Legislative Assembly have invited her to take oath of office of Chief Minister on May 5 at 10.45 am at Raj Bhawan.

In view of current Covid situation function will be with limited audience. pic.twitter.com/OuvzI46oLd

— Governor West Bengal Jagdeep Dhankhar (@jdhankhar1) May 3, 2021

The MLAs of the TMC unanimously elected Banerjee as the legislative party leader at a meeting here, its secretary-general Partha Chatterjee said.

The TMC legislators also elected Biman Banerjee, the speaker in the outgoing House, as the pro-tem speaker in the new Assembly.

"The newly-elected members will take oath in the Assembly from 6 May," Chatterjee told reporters at the party headquarters here after the meeting of the legislators.

The TMC came to power for the third time in a row in West Bengal, pocketing 213 of the 292 Assembly seats that went to polls, while its main challenger, the BJP, bagged 77 seats.

Meanwhile, Banerjee claimed that the returning officer of Nandigram did not order recounting of votes even after she demanded it as he feared for his life.

Addressing a press meet, Banerjee reaffirmed she will move court over the election result in the constituency where she lost narrowly to BJP's Suvendu Adhikari.

Banerjee made public a purported SMS from the RO to an official in the office of the state's Chief Electoral Officer, where he voiced fear he could face dire consequences if he ordered recounting, and may even have to die by suicide.

"How can EC reverse Nandigram result after formally announcing it? We will move court against this," she said.

"Why was the server down for four hours? We are willing to accept people's mandate but if the result of one place has anomalies, there may be something beyond what appears. We have to seek the truth," she added.

Hitting out at the Election Commission, she claimed that the BJP would not have crossed the 50 seat mark if the poll panel had not helped it.