Rajya Sabha MP Koel Mallick has resigned from the TMC just months after taking oath, becoming the latest senior leader to leave the party after its 2026 West Bengal Assembly election defeat.
Her resignation follows a series of defections, including Madan Mitra's exit and the departure of several Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha MPs, further deepening the crisis within the TMC.
The resignations have reduced the TMC's strength in the Rajya Sabha while boosting the NDA's numbers, bringing the ruling alliance closer to a two-thirds majority in the Upper House.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) implosion continued as another Rajya Sabha MP, Koel Mallick, resigned from the Upper House only months after taking the oath. The actor-turned-politician had become a Rajya Sabha member in April and is the latest in a string of leaders to leave the party following its defeat in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections.
Rukmini Mallick, popularly known as Koel Mallick, wrote to Vice President and ex officio Rajya Sabha Chairman C.P. Radhakrishnan, submitting her resignation.
"I do hereby resign from the membership of Rajya Sabha, which may please be accepted with immediate effect," she wrote in her resignation letter.
Defections Galore
Mallick's resignation came a day after Mamata Banerjee's close aide, Madan Mitra, quit the party to join the Ritabrata Banerjee faction in the Assembly. The switch came after Mitra's wife and sons were summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Responding to his defection, Mamata Banerjee released a video statement saying that Mitra was leaving the TMC because he was scared of the ED and had merely used Abhishek Banerjee as an excuse.
"Abhishek Banerjee has been turned into an excuse. His family members were summoned. Had he wanted, he could have got relief. But he did not run away from the battlefield. The way he has continued to fight, all his flaws have been forgiven," the TMC chief said.
Three of the TMC's Rajya Sabha MPs—Prakash Chik Baraik, Sukhendu Sekhar Ray and Sushmita Dev—had already resigned from the party. They have since been fielded by the BJP in the by-elections triggered by their resignations. Mallick's exit comes as a fresh setback for the party, particularly as she had taken oath only a few months ago.
The TMC has also faced rebellion in its Lok Sabha ranks, with 20 MPs led by Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar joining the Nationalist Citizen Party of India in a bid to avoid disqualification under the anti-defection law.
Dwindling Numbers
The continued resignations of Rajya Sabha MPs have weakened the TMC in the Upper House. The party is now left with just nine members, down from 13 at the start of the year.
The resignations have not only weakened the regional party but have also strengthened the NDA, whose strength in the Rajya Sabha has risen to around 155 members, bringing it closer to the two-thirds majority mark.
With another Rajya Sabha seat set to fall vacant—a seat the BJP is widely expected to win—the ruling alliance is moving closer to securing the numbers needed to pass key legislation, including the much debated Delimitation Bill.
