Mamata to take oath as Bengal CM for 3rd time on May 5

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

Photograph: Swapan Mahapatra/PTI Photo

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.

"CM @MamataOfficial called on me and submitted her resignation as CM and the same has been accepted. She has been requested to continue till alternative arrangements are made," Dhankhar tweeted.

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

"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," Dhankhar said in another tweet.

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 May 6," 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.