Shortly after Sushmita Dev resigned from the Congress, senior party leader Kapil Sibal accused the leadership of moving on with “eyes wide shut”. Sibal is one of the 23 leaders (called G-23) who wrote an open letter to party president Sonia Gandhi last year demanding sweeping changes in the Congress.
“Sushmita Dev Resigns from primary membership of our Party. While young leaders leave, we ‘oldies’ are blamed for our efforts to strengthen it. The Party moves on with: Eyes Wide Shut,” the Rajya Sabha MP said on Twitter.
Dev sent her resignation letter to Sonia Gandhi on Sunday, saying she is resigning from the primary membership of the party, but did not give any specific reason. Soon after, she joined the Trinamool Congress (TMC). ‘
After joining the TMC, Dev went to “Nabanna”, the West Bengal state secretariat, and met Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. She will also hold a press conference on behalf of the TMC in Delhi on Tuesday. Sources claim that after joining Trinamool Congress, Sushmita Dev can become in-charge of Tripura where Assembly elections are to be held next year. Tripura has a large number of Bengali speaking population and that is why TMC is throwing its full force there.
The daughter of Assam Congress stalwart and influential Bengali leader Late Santosh Mohan Dev, she was the national president of the Mahila Congress. She had earlier been a Congress MP from Silchar in Assam, the stronghold of her father. However, she lost the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from there. Her family had been in the Congress for four generations; she was the party’s top leader in Assam’s Barak valley region dominated by Bengalis. Late Santosh Mohan Dev was a seven-time Congress MP; out of the seven terms as Lok Sabha MP, he represented Silchar five times and twice from the Tripura West seat.
Dev resigned from the party’s primary membership on 15 August in a letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi. In her resignation letter, she thanked Sonia Gandhi for giving her the opportunity and guidance and also sought best wishes for her next innings. Dev wrote, “I am ending three decades of relations with the Congress. Thanks to my teammates and party leaders and ministers for being by my side. I will always remember the memories of three decades.”
Sushmita Dev, who won the Lok Sabha elections from Silchar in 2014, was uneasy in the Congress for a long time. A major reason for this is the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Congress opposed it. But the Bengali Hindus of the Barak Valley area of Assam where Sushmita Dev comes from, were in favour of this law. For Sushmita Dev, there was a gaping situation ahead and behind. A few months back, Dev, who was upset over the seat-sharing in alliance with the AIUDF at the time of the Assembly elections, had threatened to quit the party. However, then she was persuaded. Last week, Sushmita Dev went to meet Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi with the new team of Assam Congress. A few days ago, she also met Rahul Gandhi at the Delhi airport when Rahul was returning from Srinagar.
Dev leaving Congress is a big setback for Rahul Gandhi as she was considered close to Rahul. It was Rahul Gandhi who gave her the command of the Mahila Congress. After Jyotiraditya Scindia, Jitin Prasada, Priyanka Chaturvedi, the name of Sushmita Dev has also been included in the youth leaders who left the Congress. Sushmita Dev was also considered close to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. In the last Lok Sabha elections, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had reached Silchar to campaign for her.
By joining the TMC, which is running the government in West Bengal, Sushmita Dev will try to strengthen the politics of Bengali identity in the Barak Valley with the help of Mamata Banerjee. Banerjee had opposed the NRC in Assam, due to which the Bengali population of Assam is affected. Joining TMC may strengthen Sushmita›s feet in Barak Valley, but she will find it difficult in other areas of Assam. Before that, she will have to prove her worth in Tripura.