Koel Mullick resigns as Rajya Sabha MP, another setback for Trinamool

Popular Tollywood actress and newly elected MP Koel Mallick officially resigned from her Rajya Sabha seat, giving another jolt to Trinamool. Mallick’s abrupt departure marks the fourth high-profile parliamentary exit from the Upper House within an incredibly brief window, arriving right on the heels of successive resignations by veteran leaders Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, Sushmita Dev, and Prakash Chik Baraik. With her exit, the ruling party's legislative strength in the Rajya Sabha has crashed severely from 13 to just 9 sitting members.

The mass exodus is part of a calculated alternative strategy deployed by rebel factions who find it logistically complex to consolidate a sudden, concurrent two-thirds majority within the Upper House structure. Instead of staging a single, synchronised split like their counterparts in the state Assembly and the Lok Sabha, the dissenting Rajya Sabha MPs are deliberately engineering a staggered domino effect by sending their resignation letters one by one to the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. Internal party sources indicate that this bleeding of parliamentary strength will continue unabated, with at least one more Rajya Sabha MP expected to quit by the end of the week and another two to three prepared to walk away next week.

The departure of Koel Mallick is particularly embarrassing for the party's central leadership, given that she was handpicked for the prestigious assignment just months prior. The TMC had proudly announced her candidacy in February alongside other notable figures like Rajiv Kumar, Babul Supriyo, and Menka Guruswamy, leading to a high-profile swearing-in ceremony in New Delhi this past April.