Trinamool Congress nominates Sushmita Dev to Rajya Sabha

KOLKATA: The Trinamool Congress on Tuesday nominated former Congress leader Sushmita Dev to the Rajya Sabha, saying it was Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's vision to "empower women".

Having an overwhelming majority with 213 MLAs in the state Assembly, Dev will have no problem in getting the berth in the Upper House of Parliament. The Rajya Sabha election will be held on October 4.

Two seats in Rajya Sabha fell vacant following the resignation of Dinesh Trivedi and Manas Ranjan Bhunia. While Trivedi joined the BJP, Bhunia resigned to contest the state Assembly election. He was elected from Sabang and is now the state minister for Water Resources Investigation and Development. Trinamool had also nominated former bureaucrat Jawhar Sircar to the Rajya Sabha.

The Trinamool Congress tweeted announcing the nomination of Dev.

"Mamata Banerjee's vision to empower women and ensure their maximum participation in politics shall help our society to achieve much more!" the party said in its tweet.

Dev profusely thanked the Chief Minister for the nomination and said it sends a strong message to the North-east.

She tweeted: "I am overwhelmed. I Thank my leader @MamataOfficial from the bottom of my heart. Her conviction to see more women in parliament is exemplary. To give someone from North East is path breaking. I will do my very best."

It has just been a month since Dev left Congress and joined TMC.

Dev was a Congress Lok Sabha MP in 2014 from Assam's Silchar. She was the president of the All India Mahila Congress. She is the daughter of Santosh Mohan Dev, former Cabinet minister. Banerjee shared a cordial relation with him.

Sushmita is in Tripura working to strengthen the organisational base of TMC in the north-eastern state.