Cooch Behar civic body chief resigns after Abhishek’s call
The Statesman | 11 January 2026
In a significant political development ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections, senior Trinamul Congress leader Rabindranath Ghosh on Saturday stepped down as Chairman of Cooch Behar Municipality, complying with instructions from the party’s national general secretary and second-in-command Abhishek Banerjee.
The move comes just days before Abhishek Banerjee’s scheduled visit to Cooch Behar on 13 January. Ghosh, who had earlier resisted stepping down, formally completed the process after meeting the Sub-Divisional Officer on Saturday.
Speaking to reporters, Ghosh said: “I have stepped down from the post of chairman following the instructions of our leader Abhishek Banerjee. He personally called me and asked me to step aside so that I can devote more time to strengthening the party organisation. Since Abhishek Banerjee is our leader, I did not hesitate. As a soldier of the party, I will work harder so that the Trinamul Congress can win all nine seats in Cooch Behar district.”
When asked about allegations of corruption in the Cooch Behar civic body, Ghosh, a former district president and former North Bengal Development Minister, categorically denied any wrongdoing or malpractice during his tenure as municipal chairman.
It may be recalled that Ghosh had earlier refused to step down when the party’s current district president Abhijit De Bhowmik asked him to do so. Ghosh had also accused a section of party leaders, including Abhijit De Bhowmik and present North Bengal Development minister Udayan Guha, of hatching a conspiracy to malign his image.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, during her visit to Cooch Behar a few weeks ago, had convened a meeting with the rival factions and temporarily resolved the internal differences.
The latest development underlines the central leadership’s tightening grip on organisational discipline in Cooch Behar, a district that remains crucial to Trinamul Congress’s electoral strategy ahead of the Assembly polls.