Kolkata:Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday (May 5) refused to resign from the chief minister’s post after her party suffered defeat in theWest Bengal assembly elections. During her first press conference after the West Bengal poll defeat, Banerjee claimed that the TMC morally won the polls and further alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) used the Election Commission to defeat her.

“I will not resign, I did not lose, I will not go to Raj Bhavan...The question doesn't arise. No. Now, I also want to say that we didn't lose the election. It is their attempt to defeat us. Officially, through the Election Commission, they can defeat us, but morally we won the election," the TMC chief told the media.

Can CM Refuses To resign After Losing Polls? - what Rules Say:

As per the constitution, a chief minister has to resign once he/she loses majority in the state assembly. In that case, he/she has to resign and also tender the resignation of the Council of Ministers to the state governor.

However, in case he/she refuses to resign, the governor of the state can act against him/her. As per Article 164(1) of the Constitution, ministers can hold office. If the CM loses support of the assembly, the Governor can dismiss him/her and invite the leader of the majority party to form the government. In the case of West Bengal, the elections have already proved that he TMC does not hold majority in the assembly. If Banerjee still refuses to resign, the Governor can withdraw its approval for the government under Article 164(1) and dismiss the TMC government.

Banerjee Accuses BJP Of Playing ‘Dirty’ Politics:

She accused the BJP of playing "dirty, nasty and mischievous games". "Sad to say, CEC became the villain of this election to loot the democratic rights of the people and to loot the EVM. Can you tell me that after voting EVM has 80-90% charge? How is it possible? Two days before the election, they started arresting our people. They started raiding everywhere. They changed all IPS and IAS officers," she said.

Also Read:'Put Petty Politics Aside': Rahul Gandhi Warns Congress Leaders Against 'Gloating' Over TMC's Loss

"They selected people from their party and BJP played the game directly with the Election Commission. It is a betting between the BJP and the Election Commission. We fought against all machinery. PM and HM are also involved, direct interference. They deleted 90 lakh names in the SIR. When we went to court, 32 lakh names were included...They played dirty, nasty and mischievous games. I have never seen this type of election in my life," she added.

Notably, Banerjee also lost from Bhabanipur. The TMC chief alleged that she was "manhandled, assaulted and kicked in belly" and CCTV was off.

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