“If People Want, They Can Vote for a Banana Tree”: Sushmita Dev Takes a Dig at Silchar Voters

Rajya Sabha MP Sushmita Dev Sushmita Dev on Thursday said the right to vote is extremely valuable in a democracy and warned that proposed measures like redoing the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and introducing of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) could put genuine voters’ rights at risk, after casting her vote in the ongoing Assam Assembly elections.

Dev exercised her franchise in Silchar along with her sisters and her mother, former MLA Bithika Dev. After casting her vote, she stressed that the right to vote is extremely valuable in a democracy. She expressed concern over statements by the Bharatiya Janata Party regarding the possible reimplementation of NRC in Assam and the introduction of SIR as it was conducted in West Bengal.

“If the Bharatiya Janata Party is voted to power, they have said they will carry out the NRC again and even SIR as they have done in West Bengal. Many names might be removed from the voter list in Assam even if they are citizens. That is why voting this year becomes important. I too have voted following the principles of democracy.”

She said such measures could risk genuine voters losing their rights, making this election particularly significant. Dev, who represents the All India Trinamool Congress, which is contesting 22 seats in Assam, added that she had fulfilled her democratic duty by voting and remarked that if the Indian National Congress gets good number of seats and intends to form the government in Assam, it would need to knock on the doors of the All India Trinamool Congress.

Commenting on Silchar, where her party has not fielded a candidate, she said that if the people of Silchar wish to vote for a “banana tree”, they are free to do so, adding that she has no stakes in the constituency. The remark is being seen as a direct dig at Rajdeep Roy, whose nomination triggered visible displeasure among sections of the public, with anti-incumbency sentiments surfacing both online and on the ground.

In Silchar, the BJP has fielded Rajdeep Roy, while the Congress candidate is Abhijit Paul. Earlier in the day, Roy cast his vote and told reporters that people have faith in the leadership of Narendra Modi, expressing confidence that Silchar will support him.

Silchar recorded a voter turnout of 53.27 per cent till 1 pm in the ongoing Assam Assembly elections, reflecting steady participation as political leaders made sharp remarks on the importance of voting and the stakes involved. Cachar district reported a higher turnout of 58.01 per cent, while the state average stood at 59.63 per cent.