Trinamool Congress MP Prakash Chik Barik resigns from Rajya Sabha

In another jolt to the Trinamool Congress, its third Rajya Sabha member, Prakash Chik Barik, resigned from the Upper House and also from the party organisation on Thursday (June 11, 2026). 

Also read | Second Trinamool MP quits Rajya Sabha 

Mr. Barik, who was also a Minister in the Cabinet of former Chief Minister Ms. Banerjee, submitted his resignation letter to Vice-President C.P. Radhakrishnan on Thursday (June 11, 2026) morning. However, he did not specify any reason behind the decision. 

The 46-year-old leader from Alipurduar was elected in the Upper House on August 19, 2023. His tenure was set to end on August 18, 2029. Mr. Barik had also contested the Lok Sabha election in 2024 from Alipurduar (ST) constituency but ultimately lost to the BJP’s Manoj Tigga. 

“People have given a clear mandate. People have favoured the the BJP over the Trinamool. Our party’s result was not even good in northern Bengal. I have resigned in view of the people’s mandate. I have not spoken to Mamata Banerjee as of now. But I have resigned from both the Rajya Sabha and the party organisation. I will work as per CM Suvendu Adhikari’s instructions in the future. I will work for development,” said Mr. Barik while sitting at the official residence of BJP MP from Jharkhand’s Godda, Nishikant Dubey, in Delhi’s Safdarjung after the resignation.

Earlier, two other MPs, Sukhendu Sekhar Roy and Sushmita Dev, resigned on Monday (June 8, 2026) and Wednesday (June 10, 2026) respectively. They had also resigned from the party. 

With Mr. Barik’s resignation, the party’s strength in the Rajya Sabha is set to fall to 10 MPs from the earlier 13. It is also speculated that more MPs from the Rajya Sabha may resign from their posts in the next few days.  

The crisis has also unfolded at a time when at least 20 MPs, representing the party in the Lower House, led by Kakali Ghosh Dastidar and Shatabdi Roy, had submitted a letter to the Speaker Om Birla, claiming that they be recognised as a separate bloc that will support the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the BJP. 

The party is also facing another rebellion in the State Assembly led by MLA Ritabrata Banerjee, who has claimed the support of nearly 60 of the party’s 80 MLAs for his bid to be the Leader of the Opposition instead of Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, the Trinamool’s official nominee.

Also on the day, Trinamool MPs Shatrughan Sinha and Babul Supriyo extended support to party supremo Mamata Banerjee.

Mr. Supriyo, extending his support to Ms. Banerjee, rejected speculation about him joining rebel groups. Issuing a video statement, he said, “Amidst all these rumours and confusions, I just want to make it clear that I am neither joining any other faction nor any party. I think it’s inappropriate to abadon the leadership when they are in trouble.”