Priority is to strengthen TMC at grassroots: Sushmita

GUWAHATI, August 19: Former Silchar MP Sushmita Dev, who quit Congress to join Trinamool Congress (TMC) recently, stated that her foremost priority was to strengthen her new party at the grassroots in Assam and Tripura.

“The current political situation is such that the interest of the people could be better looked after if I joined TMC,” Dev told media persons after landing at Silchar Airport, for the first time since joining Trinamool Congress last Monday.

Asked about her post in the party, Dev said, “Let us put speculations to end. Till now, I have not spoken to (TMC chief) Mamata Banerjee and it is certainly not a case of being given a plum post. The acceptance of the people at the grassroots will be important. So the next few years in my political career is a struggle to establish Trinamool Congress at the grassroots level.”

Later, speaking at a meeting at Cachar Club, Dev said that TMC has a “vision” and that the party workers needed to put in their efforts with dedication and commitment to help the party bolster its base in Assam and Tripura initially

She also said that she was not looking to the upcoming elections.

Earlier, her loyalists, including several former Congress members who joined Trinamool Congress, gave her a rousing welcome at Silchar Airport, chanting “khela hobe” (a term which gained prominence ahead of the the Bengal polls earlier this year) during her journey from the airport to the town.

Dev, who was the president of the All India Mahila Congress, submitted her resignation from the party on August 15.

She flew to Kolkata on August 16 and formally joined Trinamool Congress in the presence of party leaders, Abhishek Banerjee and Derek O’Brien.

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