Asish Banerjee, former Bengal Minister and Trinamool leader, found dead in party office

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Former West Bengal Minister and Trinamool Congress leader Ashis Banerjee was found dead on Sunday, August 16, 2026. Photo credit: X/abhishekaitc

Former West Bengal Minister and Trinamool Congress leader Ashis Banerjee was found dead on Sunday morning inside a party office near his residence in West Bengal’s Birbhum district.

The 75-year-old leader was a five-term Trinamool MLA and was Deputy Speaker of the West Bengal Assembly from 2021 to 2026. He lost the 2026 Assembly polls to Bharatiya Janata Party’s Dhruba Saha.

A note was found and the body has been sent for autopsy. Banerjee, who had taught at Rampurhat College, was known as a leader with a clean image. The note stated that he was not involved in any “wrongdoing”. “I had nothing to do with corruption and yet all these completely false allegations to malign me…” the note read. Banerjee rued that he became associated with politics and urged his children not to do so.

In the note, the Trinamool leader was apparently referring to supposed allegations of wrongdoings related to the Tarapith Rampurhat Development Authority where he had served as the chairperson.

Leaders across political lines expressed grief over the demise of the leader even as a political slugfest and blame game began.

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari described Banerjee as a decent political leader and said that he spoke to the family members of the deceased leader and asked them to cooperate with the police. “Corrupt individuals from the TMC might try to intimidate them... Call records should be examined,” the Chief Minister said, adding that after the Assembly elections, Mamata Banerjee had named Banerjee in a committee, but he had immediately quit.

Former Chief Minister and Trinamool chairperson Mamata Banerjee said she felt deeply disturbed over the demise of the former MLA.

In a social media post, she said that “despite the work he did, he was repeatedly maligned, falsely accused and subjected to relentless pressure”. The Trinamool supremo, while referring to the harassment and mental pressure faced by Banerjee, said that it “should make all of us pause and reflect on the human cost of relentless political hostility”.

Trinamool general secretary Abhishek Banerjee condoled the death saying it “should trouble the conscience of everyone who believes that politics and journalism must have boundaries.”

Banerjee had joined the camp of rebel Trinamool MLAs led by Leader of Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee. He visited the residence of the deceased Trinamool leader and called him a “martyr”. “He stood against the mafia syndicate of the organised loot and legalised plunder, and they should be identified and punished,” he said referring to alleged of corruption which prevailed in the previous regime.

After the BJP came to power in the State, several Trinamool leaders are being investigated for their alleged role in corruption. Several leaders and former MLAs of Trinamool have been arrested.