Kolkata | Alleging that the West Bengal assembly poll verdict was "not a people’s mandate but a conspiracy", TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday refused to resign as chief minister, opening up a constitutional grey zone and a political confrontation in the state.
A day after the BJP sealed a landslide victory with 207 seats in the 294-member assembly, ending the Trinamool Congress’s uninterrupted 15-year rule, Banerjee dismissed the outcome as "engineered" and asserted that her party was fighting the Election Commission, not the BJP. The TMC could only manage 80 seats.
"Why should I step down? We have not lost. The mandate has been looted. Where does the question of resignation arise?" she said, doubling down on her refusal to vacate the office.
"The question of my resignation does not arise, as we were defeated not by a public mandate but by a conspiracy…I did not lose, I will not go to Lok Bhavan," she asserted at a packed press conference, her tone oscillating between grievance and combativeness.
Banerjee alleged large-scale irregularities in counting, claiming nearly 100 seats were "looted" and that the pace of counting was deliberately slowed to sap her party’s morale.
"We were not fighting the BJP; we were fighting the Election Commission, which was working for the BJP. I have never seen such an election in my entire political career," she said.
"A black chapter in history has been created. The Chief Election Commissioner has become the villain," she added, escalating her attack on the poll body.
Yet, beyond the rhetoric, Banerjee’s refusal to resign has opened up a constitutional grey zone.
According to constitutional experts, a scenario in which a chief minister, after losing an election, declines to step down has never been envisaged.
Significantly, experts note that there is no precedent in India of a defeated chief minister refusing to resign after losing an assembly election. If Banerjee persists with her stance, it could mark an unprecedented moment in the evolution of India’s parliamentary democracy.
Constitutional expert and former Lok Sabha secretary general P D T Achary told PTI that Banerjee "has to go" once a new chief minister takes the oath. "There cannot be two chief ministers in a state," he added.
He also underlined that she was elected to the outgoing legislative assembly. Its term ends on May 7. "As per constitutional provisions, a government is accountable to the legislature. Once the term ends, the government too has to go," he noted.
Asked about the constitutional or legal options available to the West Bengal Governor following Banerjee's assertion, senior advocate and constitutional law expert Rakesh Dwivedi said political morality and constitutional discipline demand her resignation.
"But, in any case, a new legislative assembly has been elected, and soon a BJP leader will stake a claim and be appointed chief minister by the Governor. The Governor will dismiss her (Banerjee) if she doesn't resign," Dwivedi said.
Senior advocate and former Supreme Court Bar Association President Dushyant Dave said, "He (Governor) must dismiss her".
Senior advocate Ajit Sinha said Banerjee must resign, or she will be out once the new incumbent takes over and proves a majority on the floor of the House.
"Mamata Banerjee has to resign. As per the constitutional provisions, the Governor must call the party having a majority to form the government and prove that majority on the floor of the House... Once the new incumbent takes over, she is deemed to be out of the office," Sinha said.
When the Left Front’s 34-year rule ended in 2011, then Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee promptly drove to Raj Bhavan to submit his resignation to Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi after conceding defeat. He relinquished the trappings of office without delay, symbolising an orderly democratic transition.
Banerjee, who rode to power that year on the crest of an anti-Left wave and fashioned herself as a street-fighter-turned-administrator, now appears to be returning to that agitational idiom.
"As long as I was in the chair, I tolerated many things. Now I am a free bird, an ordinary person. I am a street fighter. I will remain on the streets and fight all atrocities," she said.
At the same time, she indicated that constitutional options remain open. "They can take action as per constitutional norms," she said, without elaborating, a remark that leaves room for gubernatorial or legal intervention should the situation escalate.
Banerjee also sought to pivot to the national stage, emphasising that she will work on strengthening the opposition INDIA bloc.
"INDIA bloc leaders called me up to express solidarity. Sonia ji and Rahul Gandhi have spoken to me," she said, adding that she received calls from Arvind Kejriwal, Uddhav Thackeray, Akhilesh Yadav and Hemant Soren.
The outreach carries a layer of political irony, given the TMC’s often fraught relationship with the Congress and Banerjee’s past sharp criticism of Rahul Gandhi’s leadership credentials, as well as recurrent turf wars between the two parties in states like West Bengal and Tripura.
Banerjee also announced the formation of a 10-member fact-finding committee to visit areas "affected by post-poll violence" and assess the situation on the ground, while dismissing 2021 violence allegations as baseless.
The BJP, meanwhile, dismissed her claims outright, accusing her of undermining democratic institutions and refusing to accept the people’s verdict.
"Her comments have no acceptance. She is only making herself a laughingstock. We guess she is making such incredulous comments to hog the limelight for a few more days," party spokesperson Debojit Sarkar said.
He also asserted that the Election Commission ensured a peaceful polling process, claiming that "not a single case of violence, firing or death" occurred during the two phases of voting.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission dismissed allegations made by Trinamool Congress supremo regarding "irregularities" at the Bhabanipur Assembly constituency, terming them "baseless and false".
Banerjee, who contested from the seat, lost to BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari by a margin of 15,105 votes and subsequently questioned the election process and the role of the Commission.
As Bengal stands at the cusp of a political transition, Banerjee’s refusal to concede defeat in conventional terms has injected an unusual layer into what is typically a well-rehearsed democratic ritual.
New Delhi | West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee must resign following her defeat in the assembly polls or the governor can dismiss her, experts said on Tuesday after she refused to step down.
Some of the experts said that Banerjee's term as the chief minister would automatically come to an end the moment a new person takes over after being invited by the governor to form the government. Also, they noted, her term and that of the outgoing Assembly will end on May 7.
Constitution expert and former Lok Abha secretary general P D T Achary told PTI that Banerjee has no option but to go after a new chief minister is sworn in. "Because there cannot be two chief ministers in a state," he said.
Senior advocate Ajit Sinha said once the new chief minister takes over, "she is deemed to be out of the office".
Achary also underlined that she was elected to the outgoing legislative assembly. Its term ends on May 7. "As per constitutional provisions, a government is accountable to the legislature. Once the term ends, the government too has to go," he noted.
The only provision for her to stay is when the governor asks the government to continue for a few days, he said.
Banerjee, in her first media interaction after the BJP defeated her Trinamool Congress (TMC), ruled out stepping down as the chief minister and dared the constitutional functionary to take action.
Addressing a press conference in Kolkata, Banerjee alleged large-scale irregularities in the counting process, claiming that the mandate in nearly 100 seats "was looted" and that counting was deliberately slowed down to demoralise her party.
" The question of my resignation does not arise, as we were defeated not by a public mandate but by a conspiracy. I did not lose; I will not go to Lok Bhavan. They can take action as per constitutional norms," she told reporters.
Asked about constitutional or legal options available to the West Bengal governor owing to Banerjee's assertion, senior advocate and constitutional law expert Rakesh Dwivedi said political morality and constitutional discipline demand that she resign.
"But, in any case, there is a new legislative assembly elected and soon some BJP leader would stake a claim and would be appointed CM by the governor. The governor will dismiss her (Banerjee) if she doesn't resign," Dwivedi said.
Senior advocate and former Supreme Court Bar Association President Dushyant Dave said, "He (Governor) must dismiss her".
Senior advocate Ajit Sinha said Banerjee has to resign or else she will be out once the new incumbent takes over and proves a majority on the floor of the House.
"Mamata Banerjee has to resign. As per constitutional provisions, the governor has to call the party having a majority to form the government and it has to prove the majority on the floor of the House... Once the new incumbent takes over, she is deemed to be out of the office," Sinha said.
Another senior advocate, Amit Anand Tiwari, referred to the Sarkaria Commission report and judgments, including in the SR Bommai case on the governor's power and discretion in the formation of a new government, and said the governor is not bound by the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers at the time of inviting a political party.
He said while exercising the discretion to form a government, precedence should be given to the party that has the majority on the floor of the House or a pre-poll or post-poll alliance that has the majority.
"Now, in the case of West Bengal, there is no doubt as to which is the single largest party with a majority in the House. The BJP has seats in excess of 200 out of 294 seats in the Assembly. They have the majority. There is absolutely no discretion to the governor not to call the BJP to form the government," Tiwari said.
"As far as Mamata Banerjee saying that she will not resign as the CM, there is no question. Her term as the CM and the term of the state assembly have come to an end and she is no longer the CM of the state. The moment a new person takes the oath, she is out," Tiwari said.
Senior advocate Shoeb Alam said Banerjee may have her disagreements with the conduct of the election process and the result, but a chief minister cannot occupy the post in contravention of the people's mandate.
"Her term as CM and her cabinet's tenure lasts only for a five-year term. Once the governor swears in the new chief minister and the new cabinet, then they are in charge," Alam said.
He said there is no process of stepping down or transfer of power that is dependent on the handing over of charge by the previous chief minister.
"Resignation is a mere convention - only to establish continuity," Alam said.
Banerjee ruled out stepping down as chief minister, alleging that the West Bengal assembly poll result was "not a people's mandate but a conspiracy", while vowing to take the battle to the streets and strengthen the opposition INDIA bloc.
"They can take action as per constitutional norms," she said, without elaborating.
The BJP secured 207 seats in the 294-member assembly, ending the TMC's uninterrupted 15-year rule in West Bengal and marking a decisive shift in the state's political landscape.
Kolkata | The BJP on Tuesday criticised West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for refusing to resign after the party's decisive defeat in the assembly elections, saying that she was making herself a "laughing stock".
State BJP spokesperson Debjit Sarkar alleged that Banerjee's stance was aimed at remaining in the spotlight for a few more days.
"She is only making herself a laughing stock," he said, adding that she is free to approach the Supreme Court over the poll outcome.
"She will anyway cease to be the chief minister after the expiry of her tenure," he added.
Addressing a press conference in Kolkata a day after the BJP stormed to power, Banerjee alleged large-scale irregularities in the counting process.
She claimed that the mandate in nearly 100 seats "was looted" and that counting was deliberately slowed down to demoralise her party.
"The question of my resignation does not arise, as we were defeated not by a public mandate but by a conspiracy. I did not lose; I will not go to Lok Bhavan. They can take action as per constitutional norms," she said.
On the alleged attacks on TMC party offices following the election results, Sarkar claimed those involved were not BJP workers but individuals previously associated with the TMC.
"This is nothing but a factional feud within the TMC. Some groups, with grievances, are projecting themselves as BJP workers and carrying out attacks on rival factions," he claimed.
He said the administration would take appropriate action and asserted that "no true BJP worker" would engage in such acts.
Sarkar further said the BJP believes the overwhelming mandate in its favour should not be tainted by incidents of violence allegedly carried out by those unfamiliar with the party's principles.
The BJP secured a decisive majority in the 294-member assembly by winning 207 seats, ending the TMC's 15-year rule in the state.
