2 min readUpdated: Jul 16, 2026 03:01 PM IST

In another blow to the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress, actor Koel Mallick resigned as the party’s Rajya Sabha MP on Thursday, just three months after the party nominated her to the Upper House of Parliament. Koel Mallick is Trinamool’s fourth Rajya Sabha MP to quit amid the meltdown in the party in the aftermath of its defeat in the West Bengal Assembly polls in May. Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, Sushmita Dev and Prakash Chik Baraik, who resigned earlier, have joined the BJP.

Koel Mallick took the oath as a Rajya Sabha MP on April 6, but did not attend House proceedings at all. Mallick has submitted a resignation letter to the Rajya Sabha chairman and Vice President C P Radhakrishnan. In the letter, she has said she was resigning from the Rajya Sabha 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,” she added.

Shortly after, she met Union Minister and BJP veteran Bhupender Yadav at his residence in Delhi, sparking a buzz about her next move.

A popular face in the Bengali film industry, also known as Tollywood, Koel Mallick is the daughter of veteran Bengali film actor Ranjit Mallick and Deepa Mallick. She married film producer Nispal Singh in 2013, and they have a son. She has won several awards for her performances in movies. These include a Filmfare Awards Bangla, two Bengali Film Journalists’ Association awards and an Anandalok Puraskar. In 2023, the West Bengal government, then under Trinamool Congress, honoured her with the Mahanayak Samman.