Trinamool Congress (TMC) Rajya Sabha MP and actor Koel Mallick resigned from the Upper House on Thursday, adding to the growing list of leaders quitting the Mamata Banerjee-led party.
According to news agency ANI, Mallick met Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman CP Radhakrishnan and submitted her resignation.
The development comes just four months after being elected to the Rajya Sabha on a TMC ticket. She is yet to publicly disclose the reason for stepping down.
Mallick fourth TMC MP to quit Rajya Sabha
Her resignation comes a day after senior TMC MLA Madan Mitra, a close aide of former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, quit the party to join the rebel Trinamool faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee.
Mitra is fourth TMC Rajya Sabha MP to resign after Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, Sushmita Dev and Prakash Chik Baraik. All three later joined BJP and have also filed nominations for the Rajya Sabha bypolls in West Bengal on the party tickets.
They also filed their nomination papers on Monday for the Rajya Sabha bypolls in West Bengal, with the BJP defending its decision to field the former TMC leaders despite its earlier pledge not to induct leaders from the Trinamool Congress.
Who is Koel Mallick?
Daughter of veteran Bengali actor Ranjit Mallick, Koel Mallick was nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the TMC ahead of the West Bengal assembly elections along with singer-politician Babul Supriyo, former West Bengal Director General of Police Rajeev Kumar and senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy.
One of Bengali cinema’s most prominent actors, her nomination was widely seen as an attempt by the ruling party to leverage her popularity in the state. Mallick has appeared in more than 40 films over a career spanning two decades.
Another MLA joins Ritabrata camp
Koel’s resignation came just a day after Madan Mitra, MLA from Kamarhati constituency, joined Ritabrata’s camp.
Mitra said that he was unable to work effectively within the party, according to ANI. He accused the party leadership of promoting Abhishek Banerjee than strengthening the organization.
He was recently nominated as the chief whip of the MLAs by Mamata Banerjee.
The Mamata Banerjee-led TMC has been witnessing a spate of resignation and desertion. The leaders also include those who were once considered close to the TMC supremo. A faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee has claimed them to be the real TMC, while 20 Lok Sabha MPs joined Nationalist Citizen Party of India and aligned themselves with ruling NDA at the Centre.
#setback #Mamata #Banerjee #Koel #Mallick #resigns #Rajya #Sabha