Who is Koel Mallick? The actor named BJP's Rajya Sabha pick months after quitting as TMC MP
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Who is Koel Mallick? The actor named BJP's Rajya Sabha pick months after quitting as TMC MP")
File photo of Actor Koel Mallick. Photograph: (Instagram/ @Koel Mallick)
Mallick resigned from TMC on July 16, shortly after the party suffered a big blow in the West Bengal assembly polls. Following her resignation, the Election Commission has scheduled the Rajya Sabha by-election for the vacated seat for October 16.
Actor Koel Mallick, a popular Bengali film actor, has become the BJP's pick for the Rajya Sabha biennial polls from West Bengal. The development comes months after she resigned from the Upper House as a Trinamool Congress MP. Earlier this year, West Bengal former chief minister Mamata Banerjee nominated Mallick for the Rajya Sabha as a TMC member.
Mallick took the oath as a member on April 6; however, she resigned months later without attending a single session. She resigned on July 16, shortly after TMC suffered a big blow in the West Bengal assembly polls. Following her resignation, the Election Commission has scheduled the Rajya Sabha by-election for the vacated seat for October 16.
Who is Koel Mallick?
Koel Mallick, popular as Rukmini Mallick, is one of the prominent faces of Bengali cinema. Her father is Ranjit Mallick, also a veteran Bengali actor, and his wife is Deepa Mallick. She holds a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Psychology. Her primary education was at the Modern High School for Girls in Kolkata. Later, she pursued higher education at Gokhale Memorial Girls College.
The Bengali actor tied the knot with Nispal Singh in 2013. Her career took an unexpected turn years later when she stepped away from Bengali cinema to enter politics, after Mamata Banerjee put her forward as the TMC's candidate for the Rajya Sabha. She took her oath as an MP on April 6, 2026, but her time in Parliament proved short-lived — she stepped down just months later, on July 16.
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According to Mamata Banerjee at the time, Mallick had first notified TMC leadership of her intention to resign via email, before formally tendering her resignation from the Upper House. "Today I saw that another MP, who is also a respected and talented film artist, met a BJP leader and resigned. I respect her as an artist. For everyone's information, she had already sent her resignation by email, and I thank her for personally submitting it today," Banerjee said.
