A Correspondent
SILCHAR: The TMC list for the West Bengal Rajya Sabha election sparked a surprise as Susmita Dev was once again picked up by Mamata Banerjee. Susmita, who represented Silchar in the Assam Assembly as well as the Lok Sabha as a Congress member, joined the West Bengal-based TMC in August 2021, and within three months she was made a Rajya Sabha member. Her term in the Rajya Sabha ended in October last year. After the Silchar seat was reserved for the SC community in the recent delimitation, Susmita’s political future seemed to be over, at least until the 2026 Assembly election. However, Susmita on Sunday got a surprise lease of term once again in the Parliament as the TMC declared her one of the four Rajya Sabha candidates from West Bengal. “I am grateful to Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee for having faith in me,” a jubilant Susmita said.
Making an oblique comment on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Susmita said the BJP government had passed the Women Reservation Act recently, but nobody knows when it will be implemented. But Mamata Banerjee believed in women’s empowerment, and she did what she believed. Three of the four candidates the TMC fielded for the Rajya Sabha are women. She further said that Mamata Banerjee had given a very positive message to the Northeast by nominating a candidate like her twice within six months for the Rajya Sabha from Bengal. “Though I will represent West Bengal, I consider myself a part of Assam and the entire Northeast, as I was born in Cachar. Hence, as a Rajya Sabha MP, I will continue serving the interests of Assam and the Northeast as well,” Susmita said.
Also read: Assam: Former MP Susmita Dev’s security withdrawn
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