West Bengal Assembly Elections 2026 | Mamata Banerjee says won't resign as CM: What happens next

In the first step to form the new government, the incumbent CM has to tender his/her resignation.

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee Tuesday held a press conference following the drubbing her party, the All India Trinamool Congress has received in the recently concluded assembly polls for the state.

In the polls, BJP has got 207 seats, TMC won in 80 seats in the house of 294. Majority mark is 148 and BJP is expected to form the next comfortably. But, the first step to form the government starts from the incumbent CM's resignation. In this case, that responsibility lies with Mamata Banerjee, she has to tender her resignation to the Governor.

In today's press conference, Banerjee said that “I have not lost, so I will not go to Raj Bhavan. I will not tender my resignation." She further said that she and her party have been wronged and BJP has manipulated the elections by Centre's 'direct interference', and this is a 'stoen' mandate.

“This is not how democracy works. When the judiciary is not there, when the Election Commission is biased and the government wants one-party rule, a wrong message goes out to the world," she said.

What happens when a CM refuses to resign after losing elections?

It's to be noted here that Article 164(1) of the Constitution says that CM can hold the chair 'during the pleasure of the Governor'. What does this mean?

Governor's 'pleasure' comes from the confidence in one leader shown by the majority of elected representatives (MLAs). After every election, Governor assesses the party-wise strength of the House and invites the most popular party.

If the incumbent CM doesn't resign, the Governor can act on his will and he can dismiss the Council of Minister of which the chief minister is too a part of. If this happens, it will be a rare incident and in coming days, it will be interesting to see how the transfer of power unfolds in the state under the watch of Raj Bhavan.