New Delhi: The Trinamool Congress suffered another political setback on Wednesday when Rajya Sabha member Sushmita Dev resigned from the party and stepped down from the Upper House.
Dev’s departure from TMC is the second high-profile exit in a week, following the resignation of Sukhendu Shekhar Ray.
According to reports, Dev is poised to join the Bharatiya Janata Party and is likely to return to the Rajya Sabha as a BJP nominee. She reportedly met Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma after finalising her switch.
Sources said Dev has already submitted her resignation and offered an apology to TMC chief Mamata Banerjee before leaving the party. Sources said she concluded Assam politics was no longer viable for her within the TMC or Congress, and that she will likely join the BJP and return to the Rajya Sabha as a BJP nominee.
Growing Unrest In TMC
Dev’s exit comes amid mounting unrest within the party and follows reports that a sizeable number of TMC MPs have expressed willingness to align with the NDA. The development intensified after a senior party MP leading a dissident group claimed that nearly 20 TMC parliamentarians had sought to side with the NDA.
Turmoil In Delhi
The party’s internal turmoil has been visible in the national capital. Amid the continuing tensions, TMC MP Partha Bhowmick on Tuesday formally vacated the government bungalow that had been serving as the party’s operational base in New Delhi.
With Dev’s resignation, the crisis within the Trinamool Congress appears to have deepened, compounding the challenges facing Mamata Banerjee’s leadership as dissent grows among parliamentary ranks.