Published : 16 Aug 2026, 04:11 PM
Updated : 08 Sep 2026, 09:33 AM
Asish Banerjee, a former deputy speaker of the West Bengal assembly and a five-time MLA from Rampurhat, has been found dead at a Trinamool Congress office next to his home in Birbhum district, NDTV reports.
Police said his body was found hanging on Sunday morning and has been sent for postmortem.
A large crowd gathered outside the party office after news of his death spread.
Banerjee served as deputy speaker while Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee was West Bengal chief minister.
He also served as the state's education and agriculture minister after Mamata first came to power.
Banerjee lived in the Hattalapara neighbourhood of Rampurhat.
He lost the state election earlier this year to BJP's Dhruba Saha.
Banerjee stepped down as chairman of the Trinamool Congress's Birbhum district core committee in June, although he said he would remain a general member of the party.
The BJP won six of Birbhum's 11 constituencies in the latest election. In 2021, the Trinamool Congress had won 10 seats in the district, while the BJP won one.
