Ex-Bengal minister Jyoti Priya Mallick quits all TMC posts, cites health issues

FHaliotis tuberculata due west Bengal government minister Jyoti Priya Mallick on fri proclaimed that he has resigned from all posts in the TMC, citing poor health.Mallick, a longtime associate of TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, said he had already communicated his decision to the party leadership."I have resigned from all the posts in the TMC because of my extremely poor health condition," he said.The development comes just days after the TMC carried out a major organisational reshuffle and inducted Mallick into its reconstituted working committee.Also read | TMC factions sit separately as West Bengal assembly session starts, first public display of splitMallick had served as the state's food and supplies minister from 2011 to 2021.His political career suffered a major setback after he was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in October 2023 in connection with the alleged ration distribution scam.Following his arrest, Mallick repeatedly cited health complications and underwent medical examinations while in custody.Mallick quit all party posts amid a rift within the TMC.The rebellion within the TMC has emerged as one of the most significant political developments in West Bengal after the 2026 assembly elections.In the state assembly, a group of 58 dissident TMC MLAs, led by Ritabrata Banerjee, broke away from the party leadership and secured recognition from the Speaker as the dominant legislature group, electing Banerjee as Leader of the Opposition.The split extended to Parliament, where 20 rebel TMC MPs, including Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, moved away from the party's central leadership and sought a merger with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), claiming support of more than two-thirds of TMC's Lok Sabha members.The developments have triggered legal and political battles over legitimacy, anti-defection provisions, and control of the party's legislative wings, marking the deepest internal crisis in TMC's history.Popularly known as 'Balu', Mallick has been one of the party's most influential leaders in North 24 Parganas and played a key role in strengthening the party organisation in the district over the past two decades.In the 2026 West Bengal assembly elections, Mallick contested from Habra on a TMC ticket but lost.A former MLA from Gaighata, he represented the Habra assembly constituency for three consecutive terms after winning elections in 2011, 2016 and 2021.