Trinamool Congress MP Arpita Ghosh on Wednesday resigned from her Rajya Sabha seat, PTI reported. Ghosh said she wanted to work for the party directly in West Bengal.

Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu has accepted Ghosh’s resignation, the news agency reported, citing a notification from the Upper House of the Parliament.

Ghosh, a theatre artist, had been nominated to the Rajya Sabha in March 2020 by the Trinamool Congress. She was among the six MPs from the party who were suspended from the Upper House for “gross disorderly conduct” during the Monsoon Session in July-August.

On Tuesday, Ghosh wrote to party General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee, saying that resigning from Rajya Sabha and working directly in West Bengal will enable her to serve the people of the state, The Indian Express reported.

Ghosh added. “I would be more interested if I could be given a role to work for the party and in the state of West Bengal, even without being a Member of Parliament.”

Sukhendu Shekhar Roy, the Trinamool Congress’ chief whip, told the newspaper that Ghosh’s resignation was the party’s decision. “Our organisation is in the process of undergoing so many changes,” he said. “So it is part of the organisational reforms.”

Roy added: “It is not that she will not have any role to play just because she is no longer a Rajya Sabha member. She is very much in the party and she will play other roles in the party.”

On Tuesday, the Trinamool Congress had nominated Sushmita Dev its candidate for a bye-poll to the Rajya Sabha. A former Lok Sabha MP, Dev had joined the Trinamool Congress on August 16 after quitting the Congress.

The Rajya Sabha seat from West Bengal that Dev will be contesting fell vacant after Trinamool Congress leader Manas Bhunia quit the Upper House. Bhunia resigned as an MP after winning the Sabang seat in the recent Assembly elections in West Bengal.