‘No future for TMC in Assam; West Bengal mandate made me quit’: Sushmita Dev

THe vainglorious shocker on  wed was the leave of Sushmita Dev from the TMC and her surrender from the Rajya Sabha. Patch she didn’t formally join BJP, the first person she met after quitting was Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. In an interview with HT, she said the Bengal loss made her realise that the TMC had no future in Assam. Edited excerpts:Why did you leave the TMC?You see, it’s very simple. Take the mandate of Assam and West Bengal, both. As you know, my politics is primarily in Assam, whereas I did have the responsibility to work for the organisation in Tripura. So my future, if any, in politics has to be in Assam. Forget the mandate. You win some, you lose some, it happens in a democracy.But I think what unfolded after May 4 gave me every reason to believe that I may not have a future there and perhaps giving up the Rajya Sabha seat and the party membership is a wise decision.Can you provide some insights into what’s happening in the TMC?There is total confusion within the party. You have seen what has happened in the state. You have seen what people are saying is going to happen in the Lok Sabha. And in these circumstances, I don’t think Assam features anywhere in that.Is there a problem in Abhishek Banerjee’s leadership? What are your views?See, my interaction and engagement with Abhishek Banerjee has been limited to Assam. I am not deeply embedded in Bengal politics, how things work in Bengal, or what the internal dynamics are. If you notice, I didn’t even campaign in Bengal. I went for one day with Mamata Didi when she was doing a padyatra (campaign on foot). Apart from that, I don’t know it closely enough to tell you what triggered whom or who went wrong. My engagement with Abhishek was very restricted. It was Assam-focused, and very sporadic, very intermittent.But what about Mamata Banerjee? You don’t think TMC has a future anymore?What is transpiring in Bengal, why it is transpiring, what has exactly offended people about Abhishek Banerjee, and what Mamata Banerjee should have or could have handled—I am genuinely not privy to it because I am not involved in Bengal politics.TMC not having a plan for Assam, was that the main issue for you?Everybody is upset with me. But I have actually brought the party to a better position in Assam. I won a seat (Mandia) against all odds, without even a party president. We don’t even have a party president in Assam. Abhishek Banerjee gave me the responsibility to manage the election. Mamata Banerjee gave me the responsibility. And I am leaving them in a better position in Assam.What’s your take on people saying that BJP is threatening people with cases and forcing them to leave TMC? Were you also threatened?No, there’s no question of that. Why would I be threatened? Nobody threatened me. I resigned from TMC at around 10.15 or 10.30, sent it via WhatsApp. After that, at 10:45, I went to the Vice-President and submitted my resignation from the Rajya Sabha seat. Then I went in broad daylight to the CM’s residence saying I want to work in Assam. I have not been able to go to the people because I have nothing to deliver to them. I can’t just do politics in the air. So I went and said, please guide me. Where is the threat? And what would they even threaten me with? I have no cases.Is it true that they’ve asked you to wait for 2029 and they’ll give you a Lok Sabha ticket?No. I had a very nice half-hour discussion with CM Sharma. There’s no better person to discuss the politics of Assam than him, given his mandate of 102 MLAs. I think it’s a historical mandate. I have worked with him before, so I’m very comfortable talking to him. I can’t give you the details of that, but we will see how it unfolds.