- Sushmita Dev quit Trinamool Congress and her Rajya Sabha seat today
- She acknowledged her resignation may appear opportunistic given the current political circumstances
- She refused to rule out joining the BJP but said her meeting with Himanta Biswa Sarma was for "advice"
Sushmita Dev, a pillar of the Trinamool Congress in Assam who quit both party and her Rajya Sabha seat today, justified her action saying she is "entitled to think for myself". She said as a public figure, she would accept being judged for it. Asked if she would consider joining the BJP, she said, "Never say never".
In an exclusive interview with NDTV's Padmaja Joshi, Sushmita Dev said given the current situation, her move will be seen as "opportunistic".
Read: Sushmita Dev Quits Trinamool, Meets Himanta Biswa Sarma For "Guidance"
"Given what is going on, I don't know what her goal or ambition is or what she's going to target outside Bengal... So I'm entitled to think for myself. Yes, I seem like an opportunistic person who has left her at the worst time... But I also have to save myself from a crisis that I am heading towards with such uncertainty. Timing is everything in politics," she told NDTV.
Dev's resignation comes amid the accelerated collapse of Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress. The party, just weeks after its defeat, is struggling to contain rebellion within its ranks in the state assembly and parliament.
While in the assembly, at least 60 MLAs are backing first-time MLA Ritabrata Banerjee who claims to the "real Trinamool", in the Lok Sabha, 20 MPs, led by Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, have declared that they will support the NDA in view of the people's mandate. Two days ago, Trinamool MP Sukhendu Sekhar Ray quit the party and his seat, bitterly criticising the Trinamool.
Read: Trinamool Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Sekhar Ray Quits Amid Spiralling Crisis
"Today, everybody has the right to have a change of mind," Sushmita Dev declared. "it shouldn't be held against me. Because circumstances change in politics... A girl's gotta do what she's gotta do," she said.
As to why it should not be held against her, she said: "We have seen in the past when Atal Bihari Bajpai ji was the Prime Minister, Mamata ji, for a package, to get a package in West Bengal, she went to the NDA saying, 'I have to serve the people'. Today, BJP is her biggest adversary... I'm sure as a senior, astute, matured politician, she will understand that change of mind happens".
Daughter of Assam Congress stalwart Santosh Mohan Dev, Sushmita Dev had switched from the Congress to the Trinamool in 2021. On behalf of the Trinamool, she had spearheaded the attack on the BJP on multiple occasions.
Today, after a terse two-line resignation letter to the party, Dev had made a beeline to meet Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. About her joining the BJP - the most-asked question at the moment -- she said it did not depend on her and she had only met the Chief Minister for "advice".
The Bengal BJP has repeatedly said it would not accommodate any Trinamool leader in the party, citing their overwhelming public mandate and the perception of lawlessness and corruption clinging to leaders of the defeated party. Sushmita Dev, though, as she repeatedly pointed out in her interactions with the media, belongs to Assam and that is where she intends to continue her work.
