West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee’s refusal to resign despite her party TMC’s defeat has created an unprecedented constitutional impasse that threatens to breach the unbroken constitutional convention of the CM submitting resignation to the Governor to facilitate peaceful transfer of power.Former Lok Sabha Secretary General PDT Achary described it as an unprecedented situation. “The CM (Mamata) can lawfully continue till the term of the Assembly ends on May 7. Thereafter, she does not have the right to occupy the office,” Achary told The Tribune. He, however, said, “After May 7, the Governor can either ask her to continue in office as a caretaker CM till the new CM is sworn in or (he) can make some other arrangement or there can be the President’s rule for a few days before the new government takes oath.”According to Article 164 of the Constitution, the CM and her Council of Ministers hold office “during the pleasure of the Governor who has to be satisfied about her majority on the floor of the House”. Although there is no provision in the Constitution requiring a CM to resign following defeat at the hustings, there has been an unbroken constitutional convention in this regard.In the 294-member Assembly (repoll due in Falta), the BJP won 207 seats to end the 15-year rule of the TMC, which could barely manage 80 seats in the results declared on May 4. Mamata herself was defeated from Bhabanipur by BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari by 15,114 votes.However, alleging that the poll outcome was the result of a “conspiracy” rather than the people’s mandate, Mamata on Tuesday refused to step down. “No question of me resigning, we were defeated not by public mandate, but by conspiracy,” she asserted.