Former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee recently made changes to her social media profiles following Suvendu Adhikari’s appointment as the new Chief Minister of the state. While Adhikari updated his profiles to reflect his new role, Banerjee refrained from using the term ‘former Chief Minister’ and instead highlighted her tenure in office. Her updated profile now states her as the ‘Founding Chairperson of All India Trinamool Congress and Chief Minister of West Bengal (15th, 16th and 17th Legislative Assembly)’.
Despite the Trinamool Congress losing the recent Assembly elections, Banerjee did not immediately step down as Chief Minister. The constitutional provisions allowed her government to continue until May 7 when the West Bengal Assembly was dissolved by the Governor. Following this, Banerjee adjusted her social media identity, moving away from the ‘Honourable Chief Minister of West Bengal’ title.
The election results showed BJP’s victory with 207 seats out of 294, while the Trinamool Congress secured 80 seats. Adhikari defeated Banerjee in the Bhabanipur Assembly constituency. Banerjee alleged electoral malpractice in over 100 constituencies and expressed intentions to explore legal options in response to the election outcome.
An unusual situation arose in West Bengal as Banerjee delayed resigning despite the election loss. However, with the formal dissolution of the Assembly, she officially became a former Chief Minister as per constitutional norms. Her recent social media update reflects this change without explicitly using the term ‘former’.
