India
oi-Prakash KL
In yet another blow to the TMC, Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament (MP) Prakash Chik Baraik has resigned from the Upper House on Thursday.
Baraik’s departure marks the third high-profile exit from the Upper House in a matter of days, severely weakening the party’s legislative standing.
TMC Rajya Sabha MP Prakash Chik Baraik resigned, the third such exit after Sukhendu Sekhar Ray and Sushmita Dev, highlighting party instability amid Lok Sabha faction claims and a West Bengal Assembly leadership dispute.
His resignation follows those of veteran parliamentarian Sukhendu Sekhar Ray and prominent leader Sushmita Dev, leaving the TMC leadership scrambling to contain an escalating internal rebellion.
In an official letter addressed to the Rajya Sabha Secretariat, Mr Baraik stated:
“I do hereby resign from the membership of Rajya Sabha, which may please be accepted with immediate effect. I convey my sincere gratitude to your Excellency, Hon’ble Deputy Chairman and all functionaries of Rajya Sabha Secretariat for extending all help and cooperation during my tenure.”
Unlike his colleagues, Mr Baraik-a prominent Scheduled Tribe face within the party and a close ally of TMC All India General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee-has reportedly not severed ties with the party entirely. Elected to the Upper House in 2023, he previously contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from Alipurduar, where he suffered a defeat.
The sudden exodus has exposed significant coordination failures within the party ranks. Reacting to the development, senior TMC leader Saugata Roy distanced himself from the matter, stating: “I know nothing about this. I am not a member of the Rajya Sabha, and I didn’t know him very well, either. He must have had some issues with the party.”
The string of resignations began with Mr Ray, 77, who quit both his seat and the party after publicly criticising internal corruption. Shortly thereafter, Ms Dev relinquished her membership, citing a combination of political and personal factors. “As of this morning, I’m not in any party. I have resigned from the All India Trinamool Congress and left the Rajya Sabha seat also,” she confirmed.
The crisis is not contained to the Upper House. The TMC’s Lok Sabha contingent is also facing fragmentation after rebel MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar revealed that a faction of 20 MPs has formally requested separate seating arrangements, signalling a formal split in the lower house. Speculation is mounting that at least three more parliamentarians are preparing to step down in the coming days.
This federal turmoil mirrors an ongoing insurrection within the West Bengal Legislative Assembly. In a direct challenge to the party high command, 58 of the TMC’s 80 Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) defied central orders to reject the leadership’s nominated candidate for Leader of the Opposition, veteran politician Sovandeb Chattopadhyay. Instead, the rebel faction successfully elected the expelled legislator Ritabrata Banerjee to the post.
With its parliamentary strength diminishing and discipline collapsing across both state and federal levels, the TMC faces an unprecedented threat to its political stability.
