Asish Banerjee, a veteran Trinamool Congress leader, former West Bengal minister and ex-Deputy Speaker of the state Assembly, was found dead on Sunday morning inside a party office near his residence in Rampurhat, Birbhum district. Police recovered his body hanging at the location and a purported suicide note.
The 74-year-old leader, who had represented the Rampurhat constituency as a five-time MLA for 25 consecutive years from 2001 to 2026, lost the seat to Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Dhruba Saha in the recent Assembly elections. He had also worked as a teacher earlier in his career and remained associated with politics since his student days.
In the purported note, Banerjee referred to allegations linked to the Tarapith Rampurhat Development Authority, where he had served as chairperson. He stated that no files were provided to him for three-and-a-half years, that he was not part of the tender committee, held no cheque-signing authority, and did not issue plan approvals or no-objection certificates. He maintained he had no involvement in related discussions or grants.
Banerjee wrote that although he could not always accept wrongdoings within his party, he had been unable to protest against them. He asserted that he had never taken money in exchange for any work throughout his political life and had never engaged in corruption. He alleged attempts had been made to malign and humiliate him, expressed the view that entering politics was a mistake, and advised members of his family against pursuing a political career. He also recalled the affection he had received from his students.
His body has been sent for postmortem examination. Police are investigating the circumstances of the death. The incident occurred a day after Banerjee participated in an Independence Day event in Rampurhat and hoisted the national flag.
TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee described the contents of the note as raising serious questions and paid tribute to Banerjee’s decades of public service. The newly elected MLA from Rampurhat, Dhruba Saha, expressed grief and called for a thorough investigation. Banerjee is survived by his wife and son. The death comes months after the change of government in West Bengal following the 2026 Assembly polls.