2 Deaths in Post-Result Violence in West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee’s Refusal to Resign may Delay Installation of BJP Ministry

Rohit Kumar

NEW DELHI, May 6: As violence continued to rule the streets of Kolkata with hooligans attacking shops, damaging and destroying Trinamool Congress offices and party flags and beating up TMC supporters, the West Bengal Police on Wednesday said there have been two deaths and 433 arrests since the day of counting for the Assembly poll results on May 4.

About 200 FIRs registered, DGP Siddh Nath Gupta said. He urged the people of the State to approach the police if they have grievances and not to take law in their own hands.

The BJP’s West Bengal unit, in a statement on Wednesday evening claimed that “elements” of the Trinamool Congress were indulging in post-poll violence to create disorder in the State by attempting to impersonate BJP workers.

The Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar directed the authorities concerned to immediately arrest those involved in post-poll violence and vandalism in West Bengal, an official said. Tensions also escalated in Kolkata as bulldozers demolished structures in Muslim-dominated New Market, while a Lenin statue was vandalised in Murshidabad’s Jiaganj. The Trinamool Congress leaders alleged a targeted attack by BJP workers.

Meanwhile, constitutional experts said the outgoing chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s refusal to formally submit her resignation alleging that the verdict was the result of a “conspiracy” rather than the people’s mandate, may create some hitch in installing the BJP government in the state immediately. The BJP sources had earlier claimed that the new government was expected to be sworn-in on May 9, but the experts said it could be delayed.

Article 164(1) of the Constitution provides that “the Chief Minister shall be appointed by the Governor and the other Ministers shall be appointed by the Governor on the advice of the Chief Minister, and the Ministers shall hold office during the pleasure of the Governor.” On a literal reading of the provision, therefore, the Governor appears to possess the authority to remove a Chief Minister from office. However, members of the Constituent Assembly had cautioned that such a provision could potentially lend itself to an arbitrary exercise of gubernatorial discretion.

Experts agree there is no significant precedent in India for this situation. There is no explicit provision in the Constitution demanding a chief minister resign after losing an election. Standing down after a poll defeat – at the core of a peaceful transfer of power – is a convention rather than the rule, though that could change now.

The principle is that a chief minister must have the confidence of the legislative assembly to continue in his/her position. Once Election Commission-verified results make it clear that this is not the case, constitutional convention asks s/he to resign.

Should they refuse, as Banerjee has done, then the Governor has certain measures at his disposal, including recommending President’s Rule, i.e., suspending the legislature and bringing the state under direct control of the federal government. That, though, is an extreme move and will likely be the last resort.

Under Article 164(1) of the Constitution the chief ministers and her cabinet are said to hold office “during the pleasure of the governor”, ​​which indicates the latter can dismiss them. And that is more likely to happen in this case, ie, the governor will demand Mamata Banerjee prove the majority she claims on the floor of the House. When she is unable to do so, he can then ask the leader of the party with a majority to step in. But the entire process would take some time.

The BJP will argue Banerjee did not have that support, though she will claim otherwise. The Trinamool leader has argued the results for 100 seats were “stolen”, i.e., manipulated via the EC-mandated voter roll revision and other alleged illegal practices. EC results gave the Trinamool only 80 seats, 68 short of the majority mark.

On Monday evening she accused the poll panel of playing “nasty games”, and pointed to defeats for non-BJP alliances in recent elections in Maharashtra, Haryana, and Bihar. “This is not how democracy works. When the judiciary is not there, when the Election Commission is biased, and the (central) government wants a one-party rule, a wrong message goes to the world.”

The 71-year-old also said she was assaulted at a polling station as votes were being counted. “I was kicked in the belly and back. The CCTV was off. I was pushed out of the counting station.” She did not, however, offer any further insight into her strategy for the next 48 hours. The term of the current Bengal Assembly ends on May 7, leaving very little time for this crisis to be resolved.

The senior TMC leaders and newly-elected MLAs gathered at Ms Banerjee’s residence in Kolkata on Wednesday evening for a meeting to discuss their strategy and allocation of responsibilities following the party’s setback in the Assembly elections. TMC spokesperson and Beliaghata MLA Kunal Ghosh said all decisions regarding our future responsibilities rest with Ms Banerjee.

“Who will get which responsibility and what assignment will be given to whom, that is entirely Didi’s decision, and all of us will abide by it. Whatever decision she takes will be final,” Mr Ghosh told reporters after the meeting. He said the party still believes the BJP’s victory was not proper, alleging manipulation and claiming that the Election Commission of India (ECI) was part and parcel of the saffron party’s result.

Meanwhile, the TMC MP Saugata Roy said an “anti-incumbency wave”, Hindu consolidation, and some discontent issues at the local level led to Trinamool’s big defeat in the West Bengal Assembly Elections. Calling the results “truly disappointing,” Roy claimed there were chances of extortion in some places. However, he said they “do not lead to any major systematic change.” “It’s necessary to study it in depth…The results were sad. We did not expect this. However, whatever results have been declared, our supremo, Mamata Banerjee, has stated that she does not accept them. She believes that rigging occurred in nearly 100 assembly seats, which is why she is not accepting them,” he said.

Roy further invoked a quote by Winston Churchill on the Bengal defeat. “In general, I would say to repeat what Churchill said during World War II: Generosity in victory, firmness in defeat. This is how I view the election results,” he said.

According to Roy, the emergence of “new forces” like the ISF and Humayun Kabir’s party has eroded the Trinamool’s vote share. “Muslims still largely vote for the Trinamool. However, the emergence of new forces like the ISF and Humayun Kabir’s party has eroded the TMC’s vote share, while the Hindu vote has consolidated. This is the main reason,” he said.

On Mamata Banerjee’s “I won’t resign” remark, Roy said, “I cannot refute what Mamata Banerjee said. This is her opinion. And as I said, there are doubts about the election process in about 100 seats. So she had to make a decision, and she has. Whether this will lead to a constitutional crisis or not will become clear in the next few days.”