Now, Sushmita Dev quits TMC, exits Rajya Sabha

Trinamool Congress (TMC) Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament Sushmita Dev resigned from the Upper House on Wednesday. Her departure comes just two days after fellow lawmaker Sukhendu Sekhar Roy quit, further diminishing the TMC's strength in Parliament. The party is also facing internal dissent among its Lok Sabha members.

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I do hereby resign from the membership of Rajya Sabha, which may please be accepted with immediate effect.

In her resignation letter to Rajya Sabha Chairman CP Radhakrishnan, Dev stated, "I do hereby resign from the membership of Rajya Sabha, which may please be accepted with immediate effect." The Chairman accepted her resignation, effective June 10, 2026, according to a notification from the Rajya Sabha Secretariat. Dev, who represents West Bengal, had four years remaining in her second term, which began in 2024.

Dev described her decision as personal, expressing a sense of freedom. "I feel I am a free woman now. This is my personal decision and I have the right, as in a free country, in a democracy, to decide which party I will go to, what kind of politics I will do, or whether I will do politics at all," she said. Unlike Roy, who was critical of the TMC in his resignation letter, Dev submitted a straightforward letter and indicated she would not speak negatively about the party or its leader, Mamata Banerjee.

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I feel I am a free woman now. This is my personal decision and I have the right, as in a free country, in a democracy, to decide which party I will go to, what kind of politics I will do, or whether I will do politics at all.

Dev, the daughter of former Assam Congress stalwart Santosh Mohan Dev, had joined the TMC from the Congress in 2021 as part of the party's national expansion strategy. Her resignation, along with Roy's, will necessitate by-elections in the Rajya Sabha. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), holding 208 seats in the Bengal assembly, is widely expected to win both seats, as each by-election will be held independently.

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I don’t need validation from anyone and I will not speak against anyone in the TMC. I’m not privy to who is doing what and, frankly speaking, I am not directly involved in Bengal politics. I am from Assam.

According to a BJP leader, Dev had approached Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for advice. Having known each other for years, they share a cordial relationship. Sources privy to the details indicated that Dev was hesitant to rejoin the Congress and wary of potential merger talks between the Congress and TMC. She expressed her intention to reveal her future political steps soon.

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Let me tell you clearly, I won’t make any comment on her. But it is true that I have left the TMC and I will let the media know about my future steps soon.