Fresh setback to TMC as Rajya Sabha MP Prakash Chik Baraik resigns from party, Upper House
The Trinamool Congress faces an unprecedented structural crisis as Rajya Sabha MP Prakash Chik Baraik became the third parliamentary lawmaker to resign this week. The exit follows a massive legislative rebellion that split the party’s state and federal wings
New Delhi: Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Prakash Chik Baraik resigned from the Upper House as well as the party on Thursday, saying he took the decision in view of the mandate given to the BJP by the people of West Bengal.
He is the third TMC MP to quit this week after Sukhendu Sekhar Ray and Sushmita Dev.
Baraik met Rajya Sabha Chairman CP Radhakrishnan and submitted his resignation, sources said.
The resignation has been accepted by the Rajya Sabha chairman, a notification from the Rajya Sabha Secretariat said.
Talking to reporters outside the residence of BJP leader Nishikant Dubey later, Baraik said, “People of West Bengal have given their mandate to the BJP. The TMC did not win. Looking at the mandate given by the people of West Bengal, I am resigning from the party”.
In his resignation letter, the West Bengal MP wrote, “I do hereby resign from the membership of Rajya Sabha, which may please be accepted with immediate effect.”
He also thanked the chairman, deputy chairman and officials of the Rajya Sabha Secretariat for their cooperation during his tenure.
A tribal leader from West Bengal, Baraik was serving as a member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and the Consultative Committee on Tribal Affairs.
His resignation comes amid a series of exits from the Trinamool Congress.
On Monday, Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Sekhar Ray resigned from the Upper House and subsequently announced his decision to quit the Trinamool Congress, citing differences with the party leadership.
Rajya Sabha MP Sushmita Dev also resigned from Parliament and the party on Wednesday. Dev later met Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in New Delhi, fuelling speculation about her future political plans.
With Baraik’s resignation, the Trinamool Congress has now lost three Rajya Sabha members this week, dealing another blow to the Mamata Banerjee-led party.
The TMC is facing a crisis following its defeat in the West Bengal Assembly polls and a rebellion that has significantly weakened its organisational and legislative strength.
Last week, more than two-thirds of the party’s MLAs — 58 out of 80 — broke away from the official TMC legislature party and secured recognition as the principal opposition bloc in the West Bengal Assembly under expelled legislator Ritabrata Banerjee. The rebel camp has since claimed that its strength has risen further.
The crisis later spread to Parliament, with rebel MPs led by Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar claiming the support of more than 20 Lok Sabha members. Jadavpur MP Saayoni Ghosh and Kolkata Dakshin MP Mala Roy joined the dissident lawmakers on Wednesday.
