The exodus from Mamata Banerjee’s party continues, with another top leader, Prakash Chik Baraik, resigning just 24 hours after Sushmita Dev quit the party. The Rajya Sabha MP, widely known as a loyalist of TMC General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee, became the third TMC MP to resign within a single week, following the high-profile exits of veteran leaders Sukhendu Sekhar Ray and Sushmita Dev.
Who is Prakash Chik Baraik?
A B.Com graduate from the University of North Bengal, Baraik worked as a tea garden employee and a reseller of seasonal crops before entering politics. Although he began his political career at the grassroots level, his rise was rapid. Within five years, he went from contesting a village panchayat election to becoming a Rajya Sabha MP in 2023.
TMC’s Sushmita Dev resignation
On Wednesday, TMC leader Sushmita Dev also resigned from the party and gave up her Rajya Sabha seat. Speaking to the media after her resignation, she said that both political and personal reasons influenced her decision. She added that she did not want to be in a situation where she was “in two boats” at the same time.
Although she did not reveal which party she might join next, Dev made it clear that she wants to continue her political work in her home state of Assam.
TMC faces growing internal crisis
The resignations of several high-profile leaders have come at a time when the Trinamool Congress (TMC) is facing one of its biggest internal challenges in recent years.
The crisis began after 58 TMC MLAs reportedly rebelled against the party leadership’s decision to nominate Sovandeb Chattopadhyay as the Leader of the Opposition in West Bengal. The rebel legislators later formed a separate faction led by expelled MLA Ritabrata Banerjee. Backed by 58 of the party’s 80 MLAs, the group secured recognition from the Speaker and emerged as the principal opposition bloc in the Assembly.
In recent weeks, the party has also witnessed a series of resignations following the declaration of the West Bengal Assembly election results on May 4. A large number of grassroots and senior TMC leaders have reportedly stepped down.
Among them was veteran leader and founding member Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, who resigned from both the Rajya Sabha and the party’s primary membership. Senior leader Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar also stepped down as the chief of the TMC Mahila Congress. Dastidar is considered a close associate of TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee and has been associated with the party leadership for more than four decades. Former Rajya Sabha MP Shantanu Sen also resigned shortly after the election results.
Additionally, at least four prominent TMC mayors, Firhad Hakim (Kolkata), Krishna Chakraborty (Bidhannagar), Ram Chakraborty (Chandannagar), and Kamalakanta Chakraborty (Katwa), have resigned from their civic posts.
Amid the growing turmoil, Mamata Banerjee has reached out to opposition allies for support. On Tuesday, she held a closed-door meeting with Sonia Gandhi to discuss stronger opposition coordination and the future of the INDIA bloc.
