Kolkata, 25 March (H.S.): Ahead of the two-phase West Bengal Assembly elections scheduled next month, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday night resigned from various “offices of profit” she was holding. The move comes amid the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct and increased scrutiny by the Election Commission, and is being seen as a step towards administrative transparency.

Mamata Banerjee is contesting the upcoming elections as the All India Trinamool Congress candidate from the politically significant Bhabanipur Assembly constituency in South Kolkata.

Following her resignation from these posts, the state administration has initiated the necessary formal procedures. According to a source at Nabanna, the state secretariat, concerned departments have been directed to process her resignations and submit compliance reports within the stipulated time frame.

Sources said the Chief Minister stepped down from positions linked to several departments, including the Environment Department, Forest Department, Health Department and the Minority Affairs Department, among others.

She has also resigned from her roles in statutory bodies such as the West Bengal State Disaster Management Authority and the West Bengal Policy and Planning Board.

According to a senior Trinamool Congress leader and member of the state Cabinet, the Chief Minister took the decision to reinforce the message of transparency, although she was not legally bound to do so.

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party has fielded Suvendu Adhikari, the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, against Banerjee from the Bhabanipur constituency. Adhikari is also contesting from the Nandigram Assembly seat in East Midnapore district, which he currently represents and from where he has been elected twice.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh