Deb submitted his resignation to the commissioner of the Siliguri civic body and also surrendered his official vehicle and security cover, officials said. His exit follows similar resignations by former Kolkata mayor Firhad Hakim and Bidhannagar mayor Krishna Chakraborty after the change of guard in West Bengal.
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Mallick, a long-time confidant of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, said he had informed the party leadership of his decision.
“I have resigned from all the posts in the TMC because of my extremely poor health condition which has deteriorated severely during the past few months. My blood sugar levels have shot up abnormally, and I am suffering from major kidney ailments. Under the circumstances, it is becoming impossible to shoulder responsibilities in the party working committee and other positions. It makes no sense to hold on to a post when you can’t work,” Mallick said.
His resignation comes just days after Banerjee inducted him into the party’s reconstituted working committee as part of a major organisational reshuffle.
A five-time MLA from Gaighata and later Habra in North 24 Parganas district, Mallick served as West Bengal’s food and supplies minister from 2011 to 2021 before taking charge of the forest department. Over two decades, he emerged as one of the TMC’s most influential leaders in the district and played a key role in expanding the party’s organisational base.However, his political fortunes declined sharply after his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in October 2023 in the alleged ration distribution scam. He spent nearly 15 months in jail before securing bail in January 2025, during which he repeatedly cited health issues and underwent medical examinations.
Despite the corruption allegations, Banerjee continued to back him and fielded him in the 2026 assembly elections, where he lost the Habra seat to the BJP’s Debdas Mondal by more than 31,000 votes.
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“Balu (Mallick’s nickname) is one of my best performing ministers. He was framed jointly by the CPI(M) and BJP for political vendetta and jealousy because he caught the illegal municipal appointments of the erstwhile Left government,” Banerjee had said during an election rally.
Asked about the widening fissures within the TMC, Mallick declined to comment on the rebellion.
“I have no disillusionment with Mamata Banerjee. Those who have revolted against her are experienced leaders, and they must have their reasons for doing it,” he said.
The resignations come against the backdrop of an unprecedented internal revolt within the TMC following its defeat to the BJP in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections.
A group of 58 dissident TMC MLAs led by Ritabrata Banerjee has broken away from the party leadership and been recognised by the Speaker as the dominant legislature group, with Banerjee elected Leader of the Opposition.
The split has also spread to Parliament, where 20 rebel TMC MPs, including Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, have sought to merge with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), claiming the support of more than two-thirds of the party’s Lok Sabha members.
The developments have triggered legal and political disputes over anti-defection provisions, legislative control and the legitimacy of rival factions, marking the deepest internal crisis in the TMC’s 28-year history.
Reacting to Mallick’s resignation, BJP spokesperson Debjit Sarkar dismissed its political significance.
“He may quit party positions, but that won’t exonerate him from the crimes he committed. He will be judged according to the law of the land,” Sarkar said.
Deb’s resignation has also cast uncertainty over the future of the Siliguri Municipal Corporation board, whose term runs until February next year.
The resignation came days after Gorkha Territorial Administration chief Anit Thapa, an ally of Banerjee, stepped down, while chairpersons and heads of several urban and rural local bodies across districts such as Murshidabad and Alipurduar have also resigned in recent weeks.
BJP leader and West Bengal Tourism Minister Shankar Ghosh described Deb’s resignation as a reflection of the civic body’s failures.
“The failure of the board was apparent before the people of Siliguri, which is an important urban centre of the state, for a long time. I am hopeful that the new set of administrators will do a better job,” he said.
“Ever since I was elected as MLA and subsequently named minister, I have always extended my hand of cooperation to the municipal body. They cannot blame the BJP government for non-cooperation,” he added.
