Sushmita Dev Elected to Rajya Sabha Again, Returns to Parliament as BJP MP

Sushmita Dev has officially returned to Parliament after being elected to the Rajya Sabha as a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from West Bengal. Her election was formally confirmed on Friday (July 17) with the issuance of the Certificate of Election under the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961.

According to the official certificate, Sushmita Dev was elected to the Council of States by the elected members of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly. The certificate was issued at the Assembly House in Kolkata by the Returning Officer on July 17.

Her election marks a significant political comeback, as she re-enters Parliament representing the BJP after previously serving in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha under different political parties. She joined the BJP on July 9, weeks after resigning from the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC).

Speaking after joining the BJP earlier this month, Sushmita Dev praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said there was “no one else like PM Modi”. She also criticised the Trinamool Congress, alleging that the level of corruption in West Bengal had shocked her and that she had never witnessed such corruption before coming to the state.

Sushmita Dev began her political career in the Indian National Congress and served as an MLA from Silchar between 2011 and 2014. She was later elected to the Lok Sabha from Silchar in the 2014 General Election and also served as President of the All India Mahila Congress. After leaving the Congress in 2021, she joined the TMC, where she was entrusted with strengthening the party’s organisation in the Northeast while serving as a Rajya Sabha MP representing West Bengal.

Her resignation from the TMC in June 2026 led to political developments in Barak Valley, with several party leaders and workers leaving the TMC. With her election to the Rajya Sabha as a BJP candidate, Sushmita Dev has now returned to Parliament, this time representing the saffron party, marking another major chapter in her political career.