Rajya Sabha Chairman accepts TMC MP Sukhendu Sekhar Ray's resignation

New Delhi: Rajya Sabha chairman C P Radhakrishnan on Monday accepted the resignation of TMC member Sukhendu Sekhar Ray from the upper house and declared the seat vacant.

Ray had earlier met the chairman and handed over his resignation to him.

"Shri Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, an elected Member of the Council of States (Rajya Sabha), representing the State of West Bengal, resigned his seat in the Rajya Sabha and his resignation has been accepted by the Chairman, Rajya Sabha w.e.f. 8 June, 2026," a notification from the Rajya Sabha secretariat said, announcing the vacancy of the seat.


"I have met Rajya Sabha chairman and submitted my resignation. I have conveyed my decision to resigning from the party through WhatsApp and email to Mamata Banerjee," Ray earlier said.

"I had my tenure till 2029 in the Rajya Sabha, but I have resigned in principle from the party as it would be difficult for me to continue," he told reporters.

Ray, among TMC's most recognisable faces in Parliament, announced his decision in the national capital hours before a meeting of the INDIA bloc, to be attended by former West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.

His resignation comes barely days after an unprecedented rebellion in the party's legislature wing in West Bengal, where 58 TMC MLAs broke ranks with the leadership and backed Ritabrata Banerjee for the post of Leader of the Opposition, rejecting the party's official nominee Shovandeb Chattopadhyay.

The revolt, which culminated in Ritabrata's recognition as LoP by the Assembly Speaker, exposed deep fissures within the organisation following the party's defeat in the assembly polls, and fuelled concerns that the unrest could spread beyond the House.

In a statement, Ray cited what he described as rampant corruption in governance and the party organisation, and said public anger against the erstwhile TMC dispensation had reached alarming levels.