In the recently concluded elections for five State Assemblies, there were few surprises. First Congress alliance defeating Communist alliance in Kerala, TVK defeating DMK in Tamil Nadu, and TMC led by CM Mamata Banerjee was defeated by BJP in West Bengal. Communist front and DMK accepted the people’s mandate and resigned gracefully, but Mamata Banerjee is throwing her usual tantrums, saying that elections in West Bengal were rigged and stolen through conspiracy by the BJP.
Post Election Status:
- Election Outcome: The BJP won 207 seats out of 294, while TMC was reduced to 80 seats.
- Personal Defeat: Mamata Banerjee lost her own seat in Bhabanipur to the BJP’s Suvendhu Adhikari by a margin of over 15,000 votes.
- Allegations of Rigging: She has labelled the Chief Election Commissioner the villain of the election, accusing the commission of bias and alleging that 100 seats were ‘looted’ through manipulated voter rolls and EVM irregularities.
- Internal Party Measures: Mamata Banerjee has formed a fact-finding committee to investigate ‘sabotage’ within her party and assess post-poll violence in various districts, inflicted on her cadre.
- Refusal to Resign: As of 7th May, she remains defiant, stating, “Why should I step down? We have not lost. The mandate has been looted”. She has ruled out visiting Raj Bhavan to render her resignation.
The bone of contention of Mamata Banerjee is the SIR(Special Intensive Revision) of the voters’ list. As per the initial SIR, about 97 lakhs names were deleted from the voters’ list, from these around 60 lakhs names were found either duplicated, death of voters, voters shifting from the State etc, and about 27 lakhs names were sent to the tribunal, which was to verify the authenticity of these names with proper proofs. So these people were not on the voters’ list as their claims were still under scrutiny. Mamata Banerjee knew all these before the elections, that these approx 27 lakhs people are not eligible for voting in this election.
As per the records available, these 27 lakhs voters were mainly from 50 constituencies, and the funny part is that TMC has won in 25 of these constituencies in the election, and in the remaining 25 the BJP has won. Even in some cases, the victory margins of the BJP candidate is more than the number of deleted voters in that constituency. So Mamata’s contention that 100 seats were looted does not hold good. The problem is that Mamata never imagined that her party will be defeated by the BJP in the State elections, which was sheer arrogance and overconfidence. Secondly, Mamata failed to judge the mood of the normal voters, who voted this time without any fear because they were protected by security forces. Earlier, the goons of TMC used to threaten the voters who were not voting for TMC.
Mamata Banerjee’s refusal to resign after losing the 2026 West Bengal election is primarily a political statement rather than a sustainable legal position, as the Constitution necessitates a CM to hold the majority. She can technically remain as caretaker CM until the Assembly term ends on 7th May 2026, but her authority will cease automatically then, allowing the Governor to step in and facilitate the new government.
Key Legal Positions & Constitutional Provisions:
- Article 164 & “Pleasure” of the Governor- The Council of Ministers, led by the CM, holds office only while enjoying the ‘pleasure’ of the Governor, who can dismiss a government that has lost majority.
- Article 172 & Assembly Term- The State Assembly’s term expires on 7th May 2026, forcing a dissolution and automatically terminating the current government’s legal authority.
- Resignation vs Convention- While a formal resignation is a procedural convention rather than a strict legal requirement, refusing to step down can not stop the lawful transition of power to a new majority government.
- Governor’s Action- If the outgoing CM refuses to resign, the Governor can act as the constitutional authority to remove the cabinet.
Here are some key legal options available to Mamata Banerjee:
1 Elections Petitions in Calcutta High Court:
- Challenging the Outcome: The TMC can file an election petition alleging widespread irregularities, ‘loot’ of votes, and procedural flaws in the counting process.
In my opinion, it will be very difficult to prove these allegations, and the HC is not going to stay the results of the elections.
- Invalidating: The goal of these petitions would be to get the election declared void in specific seats or statewide based on allegations of manipulation.
In my opinion, it is going to be a lengthy procedure.
2 Escalation to the Supreme Court
- Constitutional Challenges- There are reports of a writ petition being prepared or filed in the Supreme Court(SC) alleging statutory violations by the Election Commissioner of India (ECI), including the appointment of micro-observers and voters list revisions.
- Immediate Relief- Seeking an injunction against the swearing-in of a new government, though this is difficult given the electoral defeat.
3 Challenging the Governor’s Decision to Dismiss
- Should the Governor use Article 164 to dismiss her, she could potentially challenge this in court. However, constitutional experts suggest a Governor has the authority to dismiss a CM who has lost the majority.
Constitutional Constraints on Options
- Expiration of Tenure: The current Assembly’s term ends on 7th May 2026, meaning her position as CM automatically terminates, regardless of her refusal to resign.
- Majority Rule: Legal experts suggest that after the BJP won the majority, the Governor is constitutionally bound to call the majority party to form the government, limiting the impact of any legal challenges to delay the process.
In the end, it looks like there are not many legal options left for Mamata Banerjee; she should accept her defeat gracefully, instead of fighting endless legal battles, whose outcome may not be in her favour.
Anil Malik
Mumbai, India
7th May 202