Mamata offers to quit as CM, party doesn't endorse (lead)

Two days after her party suffered serious setbacks in the Lok Sabha elections, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday offered to step down from the post.

Banerjee said that she had expressed her desire to quit the Chief Minister's post at an emergent meeting of the Trinamool Congres, but her decision was not endorsed by those present at the meeting.

"I feel insulted. In the meeting I expressed my desire to step down as Chief Minister, but those present did not endorse my decision," Banerjee told mediapersons after the meeting.

The meeting was held in the backdrop of Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) stunning show in West Bengal, where it won 18 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats. 

This was BJP's best performance in the state since the formation of the party. It had won just two seats in 2014.

The Trinamool Congress, which had triumphed in 34 seats five years back, won 22 seats this time around. The Congress got the remaining two seats. IANS