Who is Sushmita Dev? Miranda House graduate’s political journey from Congress to TMC and now as BJP candidate for Rajya Sabha

Former Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MPs Sushmita Dev, Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, and Prakash Chik Baraik joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in Kolkata on Thursday. They were formally inducted into the party in the presence of West Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya.

Bhattacharya welcomed the three leaders by handing them BJP flags during an event held at the party’s Salt Lake office, which was attended by several senior state leaders.

Their entry into the party comes at a time when the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC continues to face internal unrest after its loss in the West Bengal Assembly elections.

Who is Sushmita Dev

Sushmita Dev started her political journey with the Indian National Congress, where she served as a national spokesperson and also led the All India Mahila Congress. She was elected to the Lok Sabha from Silchar in 2014, defeating BJP candidate Kabindra Purkayastha, but was defeated in the 2019 elections by BJP’s Rajdeep Roy.

In August 2021, she resigned from Congress and joined the All India Trinamool Congress under the leadership of then West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. She was subsequently nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the party and given the responsibility of strengthening its presence in the Northeast, particularly in Assam and Tripura.

A key political figure from the Barak Valley, Sushmita Dev is the daughter of veteran Congress leader Santosh Mohan Dev.

Educational Background

Sushmita Dev has a strong academic background in both arts and law. She completed her B.A. (Hons.) from Miranda House, Delhi University, followed by an LL.B from Thames Valley University in London. She went on to earn an LL.M in Corporate and Commercial Laws from King’s College London and also obtained a Bar-at-Law qualification from the Inns of Court School of Law in London.