Celebrity TMC MP Koel Mallick Resigns From Rajya Sabha In Another Jolt To Mamata Banerjee

Kolkata: Celebrity Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Rukmini Mallick, popularly known as Koel Mallick, resigned from the Rajya Sabha on Thursday in another parliamentary setback to Mamata Banerjee. Koel's resignation comes just over three months after she took oath as an MP.

In a letter to Rajya Sabha Chairman CP Radhakrishnan, Mallick wrote, “I do hereby resign from the membership of Rajya Sabha, which may please be accepted with immediate effect. I convey my sincere gratitude to your Excellency, Hon'ble Deputy Chairman and all functionaries of the Rajya Sabha Secretariat extending all help and cooperation during my tenure as a Member of the Rajya Sabha.”

Koel, also referred to as ‘Tolly-Queen’, took oath in the Upper House on April 6, saying she was honoured to be given an opportunity to serve the people of West Bengal. She had called the day a “beginning of a new journey”.

Koel Mallick's resignation comes weeks after TMC MPs Prakash Chik Baraik, Sukhendu Sekhar Roy and Sushmita Dev resigned from the Rajya Sabha. The trio later joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Shortly after their induction, BJP nominated all three as its candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha by-elections from West Bengal.

Trinamool Congress (TMC) has been facing unprecedented existential and structural crisis a comes following its landslide defeat in the state Assembly elections, where it won just 80 out of 294 seats and lost power after ruling over West Bengal for 15 years.

On Wednesday, veteran leader and Kamarhati MLA Madan Mitra, who was considered a loyalist of Mamata Banerjee, officially joined the rebel TMC camp. He announced his resignation from all national and state committees of the TMC aligned with the former West Bengal Chief Minister.

He also stepped down from his post as the party's chief whip with immediate effect. Mitra formally aligned himself with the rival TMC faction led by the Leader of the Opposition, Ritabrata Banerjee, after meeting him in his chamber at the West Bengal Assembly.