Partha wants to attend Assembly, writes to Speaker
The Statesman | 27 November 2025
Days after being released on bail, former education minister Partha Chatterjee has written to Speaker Biman Banerjee expressing his desire to attend the upcoming Winter Session of the Assembly.
The suspended Trinamul Congress MLA from Behala West has formally communicated that he wishes to resume his legislative duties, Assembly sources confirmed on Wednesday. Chatterjee’s letter, however, comes amid procedural uncertainty. The Presidency Correctional Home authorities, from where he was released last week, are yet to send the mandatory release intimation to the Assembly secretariat. Without that communication, officials say, his physical participation in the session remains doubtful.
“Unless the jail authorities send an official release note, procedural clearance cannot be completed,” an Assembly official said. Upon returning home after more than two years in custody in connection with the alleged school recruitment scam, Chatterjee had reportedly told close associates that he intended to “return to work”. His wish to attend the winter session was already being speculated upon in political circles. But the more contentious question is where he would be seated inside the House.
Although he won the 2021 Assembly elections on a Trinamul Congress ticket, the ruling party suspended him for six years after his arrest. As a result, he cannot occupy the seat reserved for members of the treasury Benches. Inside the Assembly chamber, the Chief Minister and members of the council of ministers sit to the right of the Speaker, followed by other Trinamul legislators in a semi-circular formation. On the left, sit BJP MLAs, while the lone ISF legislator, Naushad Siddique, occupies a seat positioned between the two blocs. With Chatterjee no longer recognised as part of the Trinamul fold, discussions have begun on where the five-time legislator might be accommodated if he attends the session. Speculation is rife that he may be allotted a seat adjacent to Siddique, effectively placing him between the treasury and opposition benches.
The ruling party has remained tight-lipped on the matter. Trinamul leaders maintain that since Chatterjee stands suspended, the question of restoring his earlier seating position does not arise.