Rukmini "Koel" Mallick, a Trinamool Congress (TMC) Rajya Sabha MP, resigned from her position on Thursday, July 16, 2026 [3].
The resignation represents a significant blow to TMC chief Mamata Banerjee, as it signals a growing trend of high-level departures from the party's legislative ranks.
Mallick submitted her resignation to Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman C. P. Radhakrishnan in New Delhi [4]. Her departure comes approximately three months after she took the oath of office [2].
This move marks a continuing pattern of instability for the party. Mallick is the fourth TMC MP to resign from the Rajya Sabha [1], a sequence of exits that highlights a deepening internal crisis within the organization.
Internal friction has led some rebel leaders to blame the party's national general secretary for the current state of affairs [5]. Conversely, the ruling party said that central agencies are engineering these defections to weaken the TMC's influence in the upper house [5].
The party has not issued a formal statement regarding the specific motivations of Mallick's exit, but the timing coincides with broader allegations of systemic pressure and internal dissent. The loss of four members of the upper house in a short period restricts the party's voting power and legislative presence in New Delhi.
“Mallick is the fourth TMC MP to resign from the Rajya Sabha”
The repeated loss of Rajya Sabha members suggests a fragility in the Trinamool Congress's internal cohesion. By losing four MPs, the party faces a diminished capacity to influence national legislation and a public perception of instability. The conflicting narratives — blaming internal leadership versus alleging central agency interference — indicate a party struggling to maintain a unified front against external political pressures.
