Hours after joining BJP, ex-TMC leaders named for Rajya Sabha bypolls
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New Delhi: Former Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders Sushmita Dev, Sukhendu Sekhar Ray and Prakash Chik Baraik were on Thursday named as the Bharatiya Janata Party’s candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha bypolls, just hours after they formally joined the party.
The announcement came soon after the three leaders were inducted into the BJP at the party’s Salt Lake office in Kolkata in the presence of West Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya and other senior leaders.
All three had resigned from the Rajya Sabha and quit the TMC last month amid an escalating internal rebellion in the Mamata Banerjee-led party. They will now contest the by-elections to the Upper House seats that fell vacant following their resignations.
The BJP said the former parliamentarians would bolster the party’s organisational and legislative strength in West Bengal by bringing their experience and regional influence into its fold. Their swift induction and nomination come at a time when the TMC is grappling with one of its biggest internal crises following its defeat in the West Bengal assembly elections.
The turmoil in the TMC intensified after a sizable group of MLAs broke away under the leadership of expelled legislator Ritabrata Banerjee. Several MPs later rallied behind the dissident bloc, with rebel lawmakers seeking separate seating in Parliament and holding meetings with senior BJP leaders, fuelling speculation of further defections.
Sushmita Dev, explaining her exit from the TMC, said she had both political and personal reasons for the switch. “It is a long story why I left TMC. I don’t want to be in a situation where I am in two boats at the same time. I will not comment on Mamata Didi,” she said, adding that in a democracy, politicians are free to make choices about their careers. “I express gratitude towards the people of Bengal, but I have to work in Assam,” she added.
Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, among the first senior TMC leaders to resign, had blamed the party’s electoral setback on years of poor governance and said it had become untenable for him to continue. Prakash Chik Baraik’s resignation from the Rajya Sabha soon after Dev and Ray further underlined the extent of discontent within the party.
Reacting to the developments, Mamata Banerjee accused the rebel faction of betrayal. In a video message, she urged people not to forgive those she described as “traitors” who had “sided with the BJP”, warning leaders against trying to “sail on two boats” and urging them to “look back and address barbarity” while there was still time.