Former West Bengal Deputy Speaker Asish Banerjee Found Dead

Asish Banerjee, a former Deputy Speaker of the West Bengal Assembly and five time MLA from Rampurhat, was found dead on Sunday morning. His body was discovered hanging in a room locked from the inside, located at a Trinamool Congress (TMC) office near his residence in Birbhum district. Police officials stated that a handwritten suicide note was recovered from the scene. The 74 year old former minister had served in portfolios including agriculture and AYUSH and was a retired associate professor at Rampurhat College.

In the purported suicide note, Banerjee stated that no one was responsible for his death and expressed regret over entering politics. He denied involvement in corruption, specifically mentioning that he had no role in tender decisions or approvals for the Tarapith Rampurhat Development Authority (TRDA). He also wrote that while he could not accept all of the party's wrongdoings, he had been unable to protest them. His brother, Prasanta Banerjee, noted that Asish had dinner with family on Saturday night and showed no signs of stress.

Political reactions to the death have been sharply divided. Left leaning and center leaning coverage highlights the emotional strain and the smear campaign Banerjee allegedly endured. TMC leaders, including Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee, suggested that the BJP subjected him to threats and humiliation, calling for an investigation into abetment. Conversely, center right coverage emphasizes the denials from BJP leadership. Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari stated that no corruption cases had been registered against Banerjee and suggested that corrupt individuals within the TMC might have been the ones to threaten him.

Banerjee's political career ended its 25 year run in the 2026 Assembly elections, where he lost his seat to the BJP's Dhruba Saha. He had resigned as chairman of the TMC's Birbhum district core committee in June, approximately two months before his death.