West Bengal Governor R. N. Ravi on Thursday dissolved the state legislative assembly ahead of the formation of a new government following the recent election.

The governor ordered the dissolution of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly effective May 7, clearing the way for the Bharatiya Janata Party to form its first government in the eastern Indian state after securing a decisive electoral victory. The party won more than 200 seats and got the clear majority. 

Party sources said Indian Home Minister Amit Shah was expected to arrive in Kolkata late Thursday, while a meeting of newly elected BJP legislators is likely to be held Friday to choose the party’s legislative leader.

Meanwhile, Mamata Banerjee told newly elected members of the Trinamool Congress that she would not resign as chief minister despite the election outcome, according to party sources.

Banerjee alleged that the election had been marked by intimidation and claimed more than 1,500 party offices had been forcibly occupied. She also accused authorities of engineering the defeat of Trinamool Congress candidates and said her party had achieved a “moral victory” over the BJP.