New Delhi: In her first press meet after the defeat in the West Bengal assembly elections, Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief and outgoing chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday (May 5) ruled out resigning from her chief ministerial post, underlining that the defeat was “not by public mandate but by conspiracy”.“No question of me resigning, we were defeated not by public mandate but by conspiracy. I did not lose; I will not go to Lok Bhavan. They can take action as per constitutional norms,” said Banerjee.“We fought like tigers and will bounce back, but this government’s direct interference is deeply concerning,” she said.Banerjee said the TMC’s fight was not just against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) but also with the Election Commission of India (ECI).“History will remember what happened yesterday as a dark chapter. We strongly condemn the attitude of the Election Commission, which we believe acted in a biased manner. We have also received information, though it is yet to be fully verified, that messages came from its control office in Delhi, and that even the counting centres were compromised. This is extremely unfortunate. This issue must be highlighted everywhere so that people, including those across the world, are aware of what has happened. The message should reach everyone, so they understand the nature of these atrocities,” Banerjee said.Also read: BJP’s West Bengal Sweep Was Broad, But the Numbers Reveal a More Complicated StoryShe noted that though the TMC won’t “disclose” their “strategy at this moment”, they will take action against the Election Commission.“We are taking action, but the nature of that action requires further deliberation. Therefore, we are not revealing our confidential strategy right now. This is the first point. Second, we have decided to set up a fact-finding committee comprising ten members, including five MPs and others. They will visit all the affected areas. Our party offices have been targeted and captured in several places. There were even attempts to take over our headquarters yesterday, including at Abhishek’s (Banerjee) office, where incidents of stone-pelting and vandalism were reported,” said Banerjee.She added: “We have enough elected members with us. You cannot resort to such acts of intimidation and violence. If people are subjected to such harassment, across party lines and among all communities, castes, and religions, then they must understand that they may have to face similar resistance in the future. This approach is neither acceptable nor sustainable.”Sad to say, CEC became the villain of this election to loot the democratic rights of the people and to loot the EVM. Can you tell me that after voting EVM has 80-90% charge? How is it possible? Two days before the election, they started arresting our people. They started raiding everywhere. They changed all IPS and IAS officers. They selected people from their party and BJP played the game directly with the Election Commission. It is a betting between the BJP and the Election Commission. We fought against all machinery. PM and HM are also involved, direct interference. They deleted 90 lakh names in the SIR. When we went to court, 32 lakh names were included…They played dirty, nasty and mischievous games. I have never seen this type of election in my life.Banerjee also said that she won’t mind if her party workers join the BJP for “their safety”.“I don’t mind if, for their safety, my party’s workers join the BJP,” she said, hinting at the threats, pressure and intimidation by the saffron party that are also being discussed on social media.BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari defeated Banerjee by a margin of 15,105 votes on the Bhabanipur seat amid a fraught atmosphere at the counting centre on Monday, May 4. The BJP won 204 seats against the TMC’s 80, while the gap in their vote shares was around 5%.‘A free bird’Banerjee said that the leaders of the INDIA bloc are “totally and absolutely” with her and have spoken to her after the results confirmed TMC’s defeat in the polls.“Sonia [Gandhi] ji, Rahul Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal, Uddhav Thackeray, Akhilesh Yadav, Tejashwi [Yadav], Hemant Soren rang me up. All the allies of INDIA alliance told me that they are totally and absolutely with me. I think our solidarity will be united and strong for the next days. Akhilesh requested me if he can come today itself but I told him to come tomorrow. So, he will come tomorrow. One by one everyone will come,” she said.Calling herself a free bird, the TMC chief said that her target now is to strengthen the INDIA bloc.Also read: Eleven Quick Takeaways From the Assembly Election Results“My target is very clear. I will strengthen the INDIA team, just like a small person. I don’t have any chair now, so I am a commoner. So, you cannot tell me that you are using your chair. I am now a free bird. I gave my entire life in service to the people, even in these 15 years I have not withdrawn one paisa of pension. I am not taking one paisa of salary also. But now, I am a free bird. So, I have to do some work, that I will manage to do,” Banerjee said.The Congress party won only two seats in the Bengal polls, while the All India Secular Front (AISF) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) won one seat each. TMC rebel, outsted leader Humanyun Kabir, contested from two seats – Rejinagar and Nowda – and won both under his new outfit, the Aam Janata Unnayan party.