Bengali movie star and Trinamool Congress MP Deepak Adhikari, popularly known as Dev, has resigned from three committees in his constituency, triggering speculation about whether the two-term parliamentarian will contest the coming Lok Sabha election from his seat Ghatal in Paschim Mednipur district.

While Dev who is the TMC’s biggest face from Tollywood did not provide any reason for his decision, party insiders claimed that the two-time MP is reluctant to contest the Lok Sabha polls as he wants to focus on his film career. Sources indicated that the actor-turned-politician has had differences with TMC workers and leaders in his constituency over a host of issues.

In the three letters to the district magistrate on Saturday, the MP resigned as the vice-chairman of the Birsingha Development Authority, chairman of the Rogi Kalyan Samity – Ghatal SD Hospital, and president of the Ghatal Rabindra Satabarshiki Maha Vidyalaya.

“A party MP has resigned from some posts. It is his personal decision. Before an election, one has to resign from such posts. I think he (Dev) will give an explanation on this in due time,” TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh told reporters on Sunday.

Born in Keshpur of Paschim Medinipur district, Dev made his debut on the silver screen in 2006 with Agnishapath. His breakthrough in films came with I Love You in 2007, which went on to be a huge commercial success. Despite the film faring well at the box office, Dev was without work for the next 14 months.

The following year, he made a comeback to the silver screen with Premer Kahini. However, the 2009 film Challenge catapulted him to superstardom as the movie received rave reviews from the audience as well as critics. His commercial success continued with films like Le Chakka (2010), Dui Prithibi (2010), Paglu (2011), Challenge 2 (2012), and Chander Pahar (2013).

Known to be one of the highest-paid and sought-after Bengali actors, Dev has received numerous awards for his work such as the Tele Cine Awards, Kalakar Awards, Filmfare Awards East (2017), and NABC International Bangla Film Award 2017. He has also been a mentor on a popular Bengali dance reality show, where he replaced fellow actor and BJP leader Mithun Chakraborty.

Because of his massive fan following and superstar status, Dev was one among the handful of Tollywood actors who caught the attention of the TMC and was fielded from Ghatal in 2014. He triggered a row before the election when he compared the political attention on him to “being raped”. He later took to social media to apologise for the comment. He received more than 50% of the votes in the election, defeating his nearest rival Santosh Rana of the CPI. In 2019, he retained the seat, polling more votes than five years earlier – over seven lakh – and defeated former IPS officer and BJP candidate Bharati Ghosh.

The Ghatal MP earned the dubious distinction of recording the lowest attendance of 11% during his first stint as an MP between 2014 and 2019, during which he took part only in two debates and asked only three questions. In his second term, Dev’s attendance stood at 11% while he participated in one debate and asked 102 questions in the Lok Sabha. He has also been a part of various Standing Committees like defence, industry, and social justice and empowerment.

In 2019, his letter to then Union Railways Minister Piyush Goyal seeking a joint survey for a Road Over Bridge at a level-crossing in his constituency made news after Goyal in his reply asked the MP to suggest a new proposal, claiming his suggestions “would affect the other projects of the railways”.

For Dev, 2022 was a year of controversies. In February, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) summoned and questioned him for his alleged role in connection with a cattle smuggling case. That December, Projapati, a film starring him and Chakraborty that was a commercial success hit the headlines after it was not released in Nandan, the state-run film and cultural centre. The BJP alleged that the release was stalled as the film featured its party leader.

Responding to the controversy, Dev told media that the movie was released in several multiplexes as well as single-screen theatres and had been receiving good response. “It would have been great if we could have got a slot in Nandan. Hopefully, my next project will get a berth there,” Dev said at the time.

In 2023, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee named the actor the state’s tourism ambassador, replacing Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan.