GUWAHATI: Rajya Sabha MP and senior Trinamool Congress leader Sushmita Dev resigned from the Upper House on Wednesday, June 10, triggering fresh political speculation after she reportedly met Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in New Delhi.
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In her resignation letter addressed to Rajya Sabha Chairman C. P. Radhakrishnan, Dev stated that she was resigning from the membership of the Rajya Sabha with immediate effect. She also expressed gratitude to the Chairman, Deputy Chairman and officials of the Rajya Sabha Secretariat for their support and cooperation during her tenure.
Dev, who previously served as a Congress Lok Sabha MP from Assam's Silchar constituency, left the Congress after her defeat in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and joined the All India Trinamool Congress in 2021. She subsequently emerged as one of the party's prominent national faces, serving as its national spokesperson before being nominated to the Rajya Sabha.
Her resignation comes amid growing turbulence within the Trinamool Congress. It marks the second high-profile exit from the party within a week after veteran leader Sukhendu Sekhar Roy resigned from both the Rajya Sabha and the party's primary membership.
Roy, who had served as the party's chief whip in the Upper House for 13 years, reportedly wrote a strongly worded letter to West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee before stepping down. He also criticised the party and its 15-year rule in West Bengal.
While Dev has not publicly announced her next political move, her meeting with Himanta Biswa Sarma shortly before submitting her resignation has fuelled speculation about a possible shift in political allegiance. Neither Dev nor the BJP has made any official statement regarding her future plans.
The development is expected to have political implications in Assam, where Dev remains a recognised face in Barak Valley politics.
