Sushmita Dev resigned from the Rajya Sabha and all party posts on Wednesday, becoming the second Trinamool Congress MP this week to quit amid escalating turmoil within the party following its defeat in West Bengal.
Sushmita Dev Quits TMC, Deepens Crisis In Mamata Banerjee Camp
In her resignation letter addressed to Rajya Sabha Chairman C. P. Radhakrishnan, Dev said she was stepping down from the Upper House with immediate effect
In her resignation letter addressed to Rajya Sabha Chairman C. P. Radhakrishnan, Dev said she was stepping down from the Upper House with immediate effect.
Her resignation came shortly before visuals surfaced online showing her meeting Himanta Biswa Sarma at his Delhi residence, fuelling speculation over her political future.
When asked by reporters about the meeting, Dev responded that there was “only Assam connection”.
Second Rajya Sabha Exit In Three Days
Dev’s resignation follows the exit of veteran TMC Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Sekhar Ray earlier this week.
Ray had sharply criticised the Trinamool Congress leadership and described the party’s 15-year rule in West Bengal as marked by corruption and administrative failures. He also praised the newly elected BJP government in the state for beginning work on its poll promises.
The back-to-back resignations have intensified the crisis within the All India Trinamool Congress, which is already battling an unprecedented rebellion inside its legislative wing.
Rebellion Rocks TMC
The resignations come days after 58 rebel TMC MLAs broke ranks and backed Ritabrata Banerjee for the post of Leader of the Opposition instead of the party’s official nominee.
The revolt exposed widening divisions within the party following its loss to the BJP in the West Bengal Assembly elections.
Dev, 53, had joined the TMC in 2021 after leaving the Indian National Congress. Daughter of veteran Congress leader Santosh Mohan Dev, she previously represented Silchar in Assam and also served as chief of the All India Mahila Congress.
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