KOLKATA: Amid allegations that the entire Uttarakhand drama was directed at denying West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee an opportunity of getting elected in a bypoll citing the ongoing pandemic, the Trinamool on Sunday appeared unfazed.
“If the bypoll is not conducted, she will resign two days before the stipulated time of six months ends and take oath as chief minister again after two days,” said party MP and spokesperson Saugata Roy. Mamata narrowly lost in Nandigram, which is why she has to get elected to the Assembly within six months of assuming office.
That deadline ends on November 5. Another option is the revival of the state Legislative Council, which was decided during her first cabinet meet after being sworn in as CM for the third time. She could take that route like Uddhav Thackeray did in Maharashtra without fighting a by-election. But there is a catch. ‘’The proposal to revive the Vidhan Parishad has to be approved by Parliament.
Since BJP has majority in Parliament, we will wait for approval. Bengal had a Legislative Council since Independence, so there should not be any issue in its revival,’’ said Roy. The Upper House was abolished in Bengal after the United Front government came to power in 1969.
In Uttarakhand, when Tirath Singh Rawat resigned as chief minister saying by-elections could not be held within six months of his taking oath of office due to the Covid pandemic, the Congress alleged that the real aim was to stop Mamata from getting elected as an MLA and compel her to step down.