New Delhi: Resignation of senior Congress leader Sushmita Dev Monday morning must have been a major setback from the party not only for the organization but also for the Nehru-Gandhi family. The development is likely to have repercussions for both at the national level.
Sushmita Dev’s proximity to Nehru-Gandhi can be gauged from the fact that she was the president of which country. All India Mahila Congress. He was also considered the closest among the members of the First Family of Congress. Rahul Gandhi.
Sources say that she was a “go-to” leader for Rahul Gandhi, with whom she had direct access. This is the reason why his quitting Congress is surprising many in the party.
Meanwhile, the interim president of Congress to fill the vacancy created by the departure of Sushmita Dev. Sonia Gandhi appointed on tuesday netta d’souza As working President of All India Mahila Congress with immediate effect till the appointment of full time President.
reason
Sources said that some recent events as well as some old issues and his future development prospects forced him to resign from the Congress and choose the one headed by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Trinamool Congress (TMC) as his new party.
Veteran Congress leader’s daughter Santosh Mohan DevSushmita had won the 2014 Lok Sabha elections from Silchar in Assam. However, she lost the 2019 election. After the enactment of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in 2019, his chances of winning the elections in the state have become bleak.
Silchar is dominated by Bengali Hindus who are in favor of CAA while Congress has taken a stand which is against the law. Bengali Hindus have shifted their loyalty to the BJP in a big way since 2019 and especially after the CAA.
Sources said that apart from being unhappy with the Congress’ stand, he was cut from the party leadership for not involving it in the process of making a stand on the CAA in Assam.
Secondly, sources said that Sushmita was unhappy with some of the appointments Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC). This had troubled him as it gave some edge to his rival Lok Sabha MP Gaurav Gogoi, son of former Assam chief minister late Tarun Gogoi.
Another reason – those aware of the developments say – was he was being overlooked for the Rajya Sabha seat. After losing the 2019 Lok Sabha election, he was expected to get a Rajya Sabha ticket which did not happen.
Under these circumstances, Sushmita did not see much future in the Congress.
effect
TMC is spreading its wings. It is trying to expand its base in the Northeast, especially in Tripura and Assam.
Sushmita Dev fits into TMC’s plan.
His father Santosh Mohan Dev was a seven-time Lok Sabha MP. Out of these terms, he had won twice from Tripura West.
Like her father, Sushmita is also considered a leader with considerable support at the grassroots level in both Assam and Tripura. He is likely to get more prominence in TMC by meeting him in Congress of late.
The TMC feels that like in West Bengal, the votes of the Left will be transferred to the TMC in Tripura in the absence of a strong Congress. Sushmita is likely to be made the face of TMC in both Assam and Tripura.
Sushmita has left the Congress at a time when a group of 23 dissatisfied leaders of the party are becoming vocal day by day. This also comes at a time when the party is taking serious steps to prepare Rahul Gandhi to take over the post of President in place of his mother. The leadership role of Rahul Gandhi has already been under attack and may intensify in the days to come.
Soon after Sushmita’s resignation, senior Congress leader and a prominent face of G-23 Kapil Sibal took a dig at the party leadership. In a tweet, he said, “Sushmita Dev has resigned from the primary membership of our party. While the youth leaders leave, we ‘old men’ are blamed for our efforts to strengthen it. The party is blindfolded. moves on.”
Sushmita Dev’s proximity to Nehru-Gandhi can be gauged from the fact that she was the president of which country. All India Mahila Congress. He was also considered the closest among the members of the First Family of Congress. Rahul Gandhi.
Sources say that she was a “go-to” leader for Rahul Gandhi, with whom she had direct access. This is the reason why his quitting Congress is surprising many in the party.
Meanwhile, the interim president of Congress to fill the vacancy created by the departure of Sushmita Dev. Sonia Gandhi appointed on tuesday netta d’souza As working President of All India Mahila Congress with immediate effect till the appointment of full time President.
reason
Sources said that some recent events as well as some old issues and his future development prospects forced him to resign from the Congress and choose the one headed by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Trinamool Congress (TMC) as his new party.
Veteran Congress leader’s daughter Santosh Mohan DevSushmita had won the 2014 Lok Sabha elections from Silchar in Assam. However, she lost the 2019 election. After the enactment of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in 2019, his chances of winning the elections in the state have become bleak.
Silchar is dominated by Bengali Hindus who are in favor of CAA while Congress has taken a stand which is against the law. Bengali Hindus have shifted their loyalty to the BJP in a big way since 2019 and especially after the CAA.
Sources said that apart from being unhappy with the Congress’ stand, he was cut from the party leadership for not involving it in the process of making a stand on the CAA in Assam.
Secondly, sources said that Sushmita was unhappy with some of the appointments Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC). This had troubled him as it gave some edge to his rival Lok Sabha MP Gaurav Gogoi, son of former Assam chief minister late Tarun Gogoi.
Another reason – those aware of the developments say – was he was being overlooked for the Rajya Sabha seat. After losing the 2019 Lok Sabha election, he was expected to get a Rajya Sabha ticket which did not happen.
Under these circumstances, Sushmita did not see much future in the Congress.
effect
TMC is spreading its wings. It is trying to expand its base in the Northeast, especially in Tripura and Assam.
Sushmita Dev fits into TMC’s plan.
His father Santosh Mohan Dev was a seven-time Lok Sabha MP. Out of these terms, he had won twice from Tripura West.
Like her father, Sushmita is also considered a leader with considerable support at the grassroots level in both Assam and Tripura. He is likely to get more prominence in TMC by meeting him in Congress of late.
The TMC feels that like in West Bengal, the votes of the Left will be transferred to the TMC in Tripura in the absence of a strong Congress. Sushmita is likely to be made the face of TMC in both Assam and Tripura.
Sushmita has left the Congress at a time when a group of 23 dissatisfied leaders of the party are becoming vocal day by day. This also comes at a time when the party is taking serious steps to prepare Rahul Gandhi to take over the post of President in place of his mother. The leadership role of Rahul Gandhi has already been under attack and may intensify in the days to come.
Soon after Sushmita’s resignation, senior Congress leader and a prominent face of G-23 Kapil Sibal took a dig at the party leadership. In a tweet, he said, “Sushmita Dev has resigned from the primary membership of our party. While the youth leaders leave, we ‘old men’ are blamed for our efforts to strengthen it. The party is blindfolded. moves on.”
Sushmita Dev resigns from primary membership of our party while youth leaders left, we blame the ‘old men’… https://t.co/qS0zANdOKh
– Kapil Sibal (AP Kapil Sibal) 1629087503000
Apart from weakening the Congress and shaming the Nehru-Gandhis, Sushmita’s resignation is likely to deal a serious blow to the opposition unity. The TMC and Congress, which contested the West Bengal Assembly elections this year as rivals, started drawing close during the monsoon session of Parliament from July 19 to August 11.
Mamata toured the national capital and met Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi and Rahul at 10 Janpath. Thereafter, TMC started attending meetings of opposition parties organized by Congress and chaired by Rahul Gandhi.
However, Sushmita’s move to TMC may create mistrust between the two parties. This is likely to affect the opposition unity which was moving at a slow pace. Not only Congress but other opposition parties may also suspect TMC.
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