Archive · 18 Sep 2026
Cooch Behar Zilla Parishad Head Faces No-Confidence Vote
Cooch Behar’s rural council has 34 members.
Thirty-two belong to the Trinamool Congress and two belong to the BJP.
On Wednesday, 22 members attended a special meeting.
They all voted to remove council head Sumita Barman.
Barman and 11 other Trinamool members were not there.
The disagreement shows there is a split within the Trinamool Congress group.
Another vote will be held on September 30 against deputy head Abdul Jalil Ahmed.
That vote may help decide who controls the council.
Twenty Trinamool Congress councillors and two BJP members voted for Sumita Barman’s removal.
All 22 members attending Wednesday’s meeting supported the no-confidence motion.
Barman and 11 other Trinamool councillors were absent from the meeting.
The motion process began after councillors submitted letters on August 25 and 26.
A separate motion against deputy head Abdul Jalil Ahmed is scheduled for September 30.
- Who
- Twenty Trinamool Congress councillors and two BJP members voted against Cooch Behar zilla parishad head Sumita Barman.
- What
- A no-confidence motion seeking Barman’s removal was passed unanimously by the 22 members present.
- When
- The motion was passed on Wednesday; a separate motion against Abdul Jalil Ahmed is scheduled for September 30.
- Where
- Cooch Behar zilla parishad; related correspondence was submitted in the district magistrate’s office and to the divisional commissioner in Jalpaiguri.
- Why
- Councillors sought Barman’s removal, amid an internal contest over control of the zilla parishad.
- Total zilla parishad members
- 34
- Trinamool Congress members
- 32
- BJP members
- 2
- Votes supporting Barman’s removal
- 22, including 20 Trinamool and two BJP members
- Absent members
- 12 Trinamool councillors, including Sumita Barman
- Motion against deputy head
- A separate no-confidence motion against Abdul Jalil Ahmed is scheduled for September 30
- Initial motion process
- Seventeen members submitted a letter on August 25; another letter with 19 signatures followed on August 26