Koel Mallick, an actress and Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP, resigned from her seat in the upper house of Parliament on Thursday.
The resignation follows a period of internal turmoil for the Trinamool Congress after the party suffered a landslide defeat in the West Bengal Assembly elections. Mallick's departure marks a continuing trend of high-profile exits from the party's legislative ranks as it grapples with a political crisis.
Mallick submitted her resignation to Vice President C. Radhakrishnan, who serves as the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha in New Delhi. In her formal statement, Mallick said, "I do hereby resign from the membership of Rajya Sabha, which may please be accepted with immediate effect."
The actress had a brief tenure in the upper house. She took her oath as a member on April 6, 2024 [1]. Her resignation comes approximately three months after that appointment [2].
Mallick is not the only member of her party to step down recently. She is the fourth Trinamool Congress MP to quit the Rajya Sabha since June [3]. This wave of departures underscores the instability currently facing the party following the rout in the Bengal polls.
The party has struggled to maintain its momentum in the wake of the electoral losses. The loss of four MPs in a short window suggests a broader struggle to retain personnel, and strategic cohesion within the party's national representation.
“"I do hereby resign from the membership of Rajya Sabha, which may please be accepted with immediate effect."”
The resignation of Koel Mallick is a symptom of a larger systemic collapse within the Trinamool Congress following its failure in the West Bengal Assembly elections. By losing four Rajya Sabha members in quick succession, the party is not only losing legislative influence but is also signaling a lack of confidence among its appointed figures. This volatility may force the party to restructure its leadership approach to prevent further defections.
