Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on May 5, 2026 that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s refusal to resign after her party’s defeat can only be resolved by dismissal. Speaking in an exclusive interview with NDTV’s CEO and editor-in-chief Rahul Kanwal, Sarma said the Governor would wait for a short period and then remove her if she did not step down, adding, “If she doesn’t resign, she will be dismissed. The country doesn’t run according to her whims.”
Banerjee, who lost West Bengal to the BJP after three consecutive terms, rejected calls to resign at a press conference on May 5, 2026, saying, “I have not lost, so I will not go to Raj Bhavan. I will not tender resignation.” Her stance has created an uncommon constitutional situation because the Governor technically has power to dismiss a chief minister, but that power is subject to judicial and constitutional checks.
Sarma dismissed Trinamool Congress claims of widespread vote manipulation linked to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists, asking, “Where is the proof of that?” He noted that the SIR process was mandated by the Supreme Court and said the court had backed the Election Commission when the issue was litigated: “You went to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court said, ‘No, you are wrong; the Election Commission is correct.’” He also challenged the party’s suggestion that hundreds of seats were “snatched,” countering that similar claims could be made about other parties and that elections do not operate on personal assertions of loss.
The BJP won 206 of the 293 assembly seats in West Bengal, while the Trinamool Congress secured 80 seats, down sharply from its 215-seat tally in 2021, according to the results announced this week. Any immediate action against Banerjee could be averted if the winning party formally stakes a claim to form the government and is invited by the Governor before the assembly’s term ends on May 7, 2026.
Sarma also criticised Banerjee’s response to the election outcome, saying people had tolerated her for long “because India is that kind of country,” and questioned the logic of alleging seat-snatching while opposing border fencing and other measures. The exchange underscores a potentially fraught transition in Kolkata, where legal precedents and the Governor’s discretion will determine whether a standoff ends with a formal resignation, an invitation to the BJP to form government, or a rare gubernatorial dismissal.
Original Source: https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/dismiss-mamata-banerjee-if-she-doesnt-resign-himanta-biswa-sarma-to-ndtv-11452643#publisher=newsstand
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Publish Date: 2026-05-06 00:12:00
