A day after the announcement of West Bengal Assembly results 2026, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday refused to accept the verdict as a reflection of the public mandate. “I don’t hold a chair, I’m a free bird”, said Mamata Banerjee at a press conference on Tuesday, a day after losing both state and her Bhabanipur seat to arch rival BJP. A few minutes later, she said, “I won’t resign. I did not lose”. She alleged irregularities and signalled a multi-pronged political-legal response. Escalating her attack, she said, “We did not fight BJP, we fought EC which worked for the saffron party”.
According to legal experts, the Governor would have asked her to continue till the next Chief Minister takes the oath. But the constitutional provision says a government cannot continue after five years. Technically, she doesn’t need to resign at all, she can stay as Chief Minister till May 06 by operation of the Constitution of India. On that date, she ceases to be CM.
Section 100 of the Representation of the People’s Act enumerates the grounds on which the election result of a returned candidate may be challenged and declared null. Banerjee is free to challenge the poll results on whatever forum is available.
The BJP secured historic win in West Bengal polls by winning 207 seats. On the other hand, the TMC managed to secure only 80 seats.
