Former TMC MLA Asish Banerjee found dead at party office

A purported suicide note is recovered from the party office located near his residence in Rampurhat

PTI, August 16, 2026, Rampurhat : Former TMC MLA Asish Banerjee was on Sunday found dead under mysterious circumstances.

He was found hanging in the party office adjacent to his residence, and a suicide note was found.

Asish’s body has been sent for post-mortem.

He was a five-time MLA from Rampurhat, having represented the constituency for 25 consecutive years from 2001 to 2026.

Asish, however, lost the seat to BJP's Dhruba Saha in the 2026 Assembly polls.

During Mamata's tenure, Asish served as the Deputy Speaker of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly.

Asish lived in Hattalapara in Ward No. 5 of Rampurhat. A party office was attached to his house. A crowd gathered in the area on Sunday morning after his body was recovered from there.

Police from the Rampurhat police station arrived at the scene, recovered the body, and sent it for an autopsy.

After Trinamool came to power in the state, he secured a place in Mamata’s cabinet multiple times, previously serving as the state’s School Education Minister and Agriculture Minister.

The incident comes a day after the former TMC MLA participated in a local Independence Day celebration and hoisted the Tricolour.

A purported suicide note has also been recovered. In the note, he denied any wrongdoing, stating he was never involved in corruption throughout his political life, reports said.