India, June 10 -- Trinamool Congress' (TMC) Rajya Sabha MP Sushmita Dev on Wednesday resigned from the Upper House, two days after fellow lawmaker Sukhendu Sekhar Ray quit, further reducing the party's strength in Parliament, where TMC also faces a rebellion among its Lok Sabha lawmakers.

"I do hereby resign from the membership of Rajya Sabha, which may please be accepted with immediate effect," Dev wrote in the letter addressed to Rajya Sabha chairman CP Radhakrishnan.

Ray and Dev's resignation will pave the way for by-elections in the Upper House. The BJP, which has 208 seats in the assembly, is set to win both seats. According to the law, each by-election will be held independently.

The twin resignations deepen the crisis in the TMC...