Bengal Youth Congress suspends 26 leaders over Ramlila Maidan protest absence
Synopsis
The West Bengal Pradesh Youth Congress suspended 26 office bearers — including six district presidents — just three days after they skipped the party's high-profile Ramlila Maidan protest in Delhi. The swift crackdown has triggered rare public dissent from Pradesh Congress leader Rohan Mitra, who argues that many grassroots workers simply couldn't afford to travel, exposing a resource and morale crisis within Bengal's Congress unit.
Key Takeaways
West Bengal Pradesh Youth Congress suspended 26 office bearers on 3 November 2026 for missing the 1 November Ramlila Maidan protest in New Delhi .
Suspended leaders include six district presidents from Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri, North Dinajpur, East Burdwan, North Kolkata, and South Kolkata.
Vice President Babul SK and multiple General Secretaries are also among those suspended.
The order was co-signed by national in-charge Ehsan Ahmed Khan and state president Sourav Prasad ; it takes effect immediately until further orders.
Pradesh Congress leader Rohan Mitra has publicly opposed the action, citing financial hardship and long service records of the suspended workers.
The West Bengal Pradesh Youth Congress on Wednesday, 4 November 2026, suspended 26 of its office bearers — including six district presidents — for failing to attend the party's 1 November protest programme at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi. The suspension order, signed on 3 November, takes immediate effect until further notice.
Who Was Suspended
The suspended leaders span several districts and organisational tiers. District Youth Congress presidents among those penalised include Sukamal Barman (Cooch Behar), Nabinendu Maulik (Jalpaiguri), Mamun Reza (North Dinajpur), Mithun Sarkar (East Burdwan), Abhishek Gupta (North Kolkata), and Indrajit Mandal (South Kolkata).
West Bengal Pradesh Youth Congress Vice President Babul SK and multiple General Secretaries were also suspended. Others named in the order include Shafiqul Mallick, Kunalkanti Chowdhury, Subarthi Chakraborty, Tariq Anwar Sheikh, Sahil Nawaz, Parikshit Nag, Sanjay Khan, Sajid Mollah, Mou Mandal, Tariq Anwar, Purab Kumar Basu, Arpan Sinha, Badsha Alamgir, Arijit Chakraborty, Rezaul Chowdhury, and Parwaz Khan. Additionally, General Secretary Bapirul Mondal and Secretaries Sainur Reba, Dabish Istiyak, and Chandrashekhar Gangopadhyay were also served suspension notices.
The order was co-signed by Ehsan Ahmed Khan, National Secretary and West Bengal in-charge of the All India Youth Congress, and Sourav Prasad, West Bengal Pradesh Youth Congress President.
The Stated Rationale
The suspension order cited the All India Youth Congress leadership's serious view of the absent office bearers' non-participation in the Delhi movement. The official communication stated that the action was intended to enforce organisational discipline — a signal that the national leadership expects mandatory attendance at high-profile mobilisation events.
Notably, the crackdown came just three days after the Ramlila Maidan event, suggesting the party moved swiftly to send a message ahead of future mobilisation drives.
Internal Pushback
The decision has not gone unchallenged. Pradesh Congress leader Rohan Mitra publicly sided with the suspended leaders, calling for a review of the action and urging the state leadership to apply a 'humane and realistic perspective.'
Mitra said, 'Those who have been holding the Congress organisation together for a long time in adverse circumstances should not have been suspended all at once without considering the reason for their absence.'
He further argued that many Youth Congress workers 'come from very ordinary families' and, despite spending 'eight to ten years' working for the organisation, lack 'the financial or political power' to travel to Delhi at short notice. He also pointed to the age cap — Youth Congress membership typically lapses after 35 years — as context for the sustained sacrifice these leaders have made.
A Wider Debate Within Bengal Congress
The mass suspension has opened a fault line within the West Bengal Youth Congress between the national leadership's demand for discipline and ground-level leaders who argue that logistical and financial constraints, not disloyalty, explain many absences. This is not the first time such tension has surfaced in state-level Congress units, where resource-thin grassroots workers often struggle to meet centrally-mandated mobilisation targets.
How the state leadership responds to Mitra's review appeal is likely to shape internal morale ahead of the organisation's next major outreach programme.
Point of View
And a grassroots that is underfunded and overstretched. Suspending six district presidents simultaneously is a blunt instrument — it removes experienced organisers at precisely the moment West Bengal Congress needs every foot soldier ahead of future polls. Rohan Mitra's public dissent is also notable; it is rare for a Pradesh Congress leader to openly challenge a national-level order, and it suggests that the resentment runs deeper than a single missed event. The real question is whether this episode strengthens discipline or accelerates quiet resignations.
NationPress
4 Nov 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did West Bengal Pradesh Youth Congress suspend 26 leaders?
The suspensions were issued because the 26 office bearers were absent from the party's protest programme at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi on 1 November. The All India Youth Congress leadership cited the need to enforce organisational discipline, and the suspension order was issued on 3 November with immediate effect.
Who are the prominent leaders suspended in this order?
Among those suspended are six district Youth Congress presidents — Sukamal Barman (Cooch Behar), Nabinendu Maulik (Jalpaiguri), Mamun Reza (North Dinajpur), Mithun Sarkar (East Burdwan), Abhishek Gupta (North Kolkata), and Indrajit Mandal (South Kolkata) — as well as Vice President Babul SK and several General Secretaries.
Who signed the suspension order?
The order was co-signed by Ehsan Ahmed Khan, National Secretary and West Bengal in-charge of the All India Youth Congress, and Sourav Prasad, West Bengal Pradesh Youth Congress President.
Who has opposed the suspension, and on what grounds?
Pradesh Congress leader Rohan Mitra has publicly opposed the action, arguing that many of the suspended workers come from ordinary families and lack the financial means to travel to Delhi at short notice. He has appealed to the state leadership to review the decision from a 'humane and realistic perspective.'
How long will the suspensions remain in force?
The suspension order states that the action is effective immediately and will continue 'until further orders,' meaning it has no fixed end date and will be in place unless the leadership issues a fresh directive.
