It is another sign of the churning within the state’s ruling party after their showing in the assembly polls. The veteran made it official on 13 June 2026, a few days after the loss in Sabang, which is a telling indicator of how the ground is changing in this part of West Bengal.
Bhunia has written to chairperson Mamata Banerjee to step down from every post, even as a primary member. With the TMC reeling from an electoral drubbing, his going means one less familiar face in the room when they need to hold it together.
Why this exit matters
You don’t come by much more weight in rural West Bengal politics than what Bhunia has. He was a top Congress man before making the switch to the TMC in 2016. As a seven-time MLA from Sabang – six of those times under the Congress banner – he has been part of the fabric of the Paschim Medinipur seat for a long time.
After holding onto Sabang for the TMC in 2021, 2026 was a different story. Amal Kumar Panda of the BJP put over 11,000 votes between them. When you lose the seat and then the local bigwig, it only ratchets up the pressure on the TMC.
Signals from his public stance
He made no bones about his decision but there was no hard edge to it. He said he’ll be around for the constituency and the state, but he wouldn’t say why he was walking away from the TMC.
On the question of whether he would go to the BJP, he was noncommittal. “I haven’t thought of that,” he said, leaving the door open for whatever comes next.
In so many words, Bhunia had this to say:
– ‘A politician is a politician till the day he dies.’
– He will put in the work for Sabang and West Bengal.
– No word on why he is out of the TMC.
– Joining the BJP is not on the table at the moment.
Track record and roles
His resume has him in both the Parliament and the state government. He was a Rajya Sabha MP for the TMC until 2021, and later on he was in charge of some of the key files in Mamata Banerjee’s cabinet: Irrigation and Waterways, Small and Micro Industries, and Textile.
He even put himself in the ring in 2019 for the Medinipur parliamentary spot. He came up short against Dilip Ghosh, the then BJP unit president, a reminder of the kind of headwind the party has been facing in the region for some time.
Competitive landscape in Sabang and beyond
The way Panda won in 2026 by such a wide margin is a case in point of the BJP making inroads where the TMC used to be unassailable. Bhunia’s departure makes the job of rebuilding in Paschim Medinipur all the more pressing for the party.
When a seven-time MLA is gone, you have to recalculate. His leaving, without any new alliances in place, is enough to make the TMC retool its approach to the candidate, the booths and the message in a place he has defined for years.
What we know so far
It was on Saturday, 13 June 2026, that the papers were put in order. Bhunia let Mamata Banerjee know in writing he was done with the organisational side of things. Some in the party are calling it a crisis; his actions certainly feed into that.
He has yet to put his name with another outfit. He has put on record that he will be working for Sabang and the state. As for where he is headed from here, he has not said.
