The Trinamool Congress (TMC) suffered another setback on Thursday as Rajya Sabha MP Prakash Chik Baraik resigned from the Upper House, becoming the third party MP to quit within a week.
Sources said Baraik met Rajya Sabha Chairman C.P. Radhakrishnan and submitted his resignation. With his exit, the TMC's strength in the Rajya Sabha has come down to 10 members.
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.
Speaking to reporters after stepping down, Baraik denied acting under pressure from the BJP.
“I resigned after considering the mandate of the people of Bengal. Now, I will do as the CM (Suvendu Adhikari) asks me to. I am not being pressurised by the BJP,” he said.
Sources said the troubles for the Mamata Banerjee-led party may intensify further, with rebel MPs led by Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar expected to submit a letter signed by around 20 Lok Sabha members to Speaker Om Birla soon.
The dissident camp claims the support of more than 20 MPs, including Jadavpur MP Saayoni Ghosh and Kolkata Dakshin MP Mala Roy.
Abu Taher, Asit Mal, Arup Chakraborty, Kalipada Soren, Jagadish Basunia, Prasun Banerjee, Sharmila Sarkar, Rachana Banerjee, Satabdi Roy, Bapi Haldar and Deepak Adhikari are among the MPs who have joined the rebel bloc, according to sources.
Sources said the rebel faction is preparing to stake claim as the “real TMC”, similar to the model adopted in the West Bengal Assembly.
The party currently has 28 Lok Sabha MPs, with one seat lying vacant following the death of a member.
A tribal leader from West Bengal, Baraik was serving on the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, and the Consultative Committee on Tribal Affairs.
His resignation follows a string of high profile exits from the party.
On Monday, Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Sekhar Ray resigned from the Upper House and later announced his decision to quit the TMC, citing differences with the party leadership.
On Wednesday, Rajya Sabha MP Sushmita Dev also resigned from Parliament and the party. She met Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in Delhi, fuelling speculation that she may join the BJP.
With Baraik’s departure, the TMC has now lost three Rajya Sabha MPs in a week.
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 increased further.