Trinamool Rajya Sabha MP Sushmita Dev on Wednesday resigned from the Upper House, two days after fellow legislator Sukhendu Sekhar Roy resigned, hurting the party’s strength in Parliament, as the TMC is also facing a revolt among Lok Sabha lawmakers.
“I hereby resign from the membership of the Rajya Sabha, which may be accepted with immediate effect,” her resignation letter said.
Dev’s resignation was accepted by Rajya Sabha Speaker C P Radhakrishnan.
“Sushmita Dev, member-elect of the House of States (Rajya Sabha), representing West Bengal, has resigned from her seat in the Rajya Sabha and her resignation has been accepted by the Chairman Rajya Sabha, with effect from June 10, 2026,” a notification from the Rajya Sabha Secretariat said.
Dev – who also met Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma – said it was her personal decision and she felt free after leaving TMC.
“I feel like I am a free woman now,” she said. “This is my personal decision, and I have the right, as in a free country, under a democracy, to decide which party I will belong to, what kind of politics I will practice, or whether I will practice politics at all.”
The resignation of Roy and Dave will pave the way for a by-election in the Senate. The BJP, which holds 208 seats in the Bengal Assembly, is expected to win both seats. According to the laws, each election will be conducted independently.
The two resignations exacerbated the crisis of the Transitional Military Council, which played a major role in thwarting the draft law amending the constitution to implement the women’s quota and determine seats.
Dev, the daughter of former Assam Congress member Santosh Mohan Dev, joined the TMC from Congress in 2021 amid the Bengal-based party’s plan to expand into national politics. She has been a member of the Rajya Sabha for two terms. Dave, who begins her second term in 2024, has spent another four years in the Senate.
Unlike Roy, who criticized TMC in his resignation letter, Dev wrote a clear resignation letter to Radhakrishnan.
“I don’t need confirmation from anyone and I will not speak against anyone in the TMC. I am not privy to who is doing what and, frankly, I am not directly involved in Bengali politics. I am from Assam,” Dave added.
She said she will not speak against Mamata Banerjee.
“Let me tell you clearly, I will not make any comment on it. But it is true that I have left the TMC and I will inform the media about my future steps soon,” she said, adding that it is not necessary to reveal everything.
According to the BJP leader, Dev approached Sarma. The two leaders have known each other for many years and share a cordial relationship. Dev, according to a person familiar with the details, first came to see Sarma seeking advice. She said she does not want to return to Congress and is also concerned about reports about a possible merger between Congress and TMC, the source added.
