Kolkata, October 5, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Actress-turned-politician Koel Mallick formally joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday and is set to file her nomination for the Rajya Sabha bypoll from the seat she resigned earlier this year.
Mallick, who had entered the Rajya Sabha as a Trinamool Congress (TMC) nominee, joined the BJP at the party’s state office in Salt Lake. BJP state general secretary Shashi Agnihotri handed her the party flag in the presence of media department office-bearers Anupam Ghosh and Chandrashekhar Basotia.
The BJP had announced Mallick as its candidate for the Rajya Sabha bypoll on Sunday. She is scheduled to submit her nomination papers at the West Bengal Assembly on Monday.
Speaking after joining the BJP, Mallick said she wanted to contribute to West Bengal’s development and thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and state Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari for nominating her for the Upper House.
“I want to be involved in the development of West Bengal. I thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi and West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari for nominating me as a Rajya Sabha candidate for the party. I will be filing my nomination today,” she said.
Mallick, however, refrained from making any criticism of her former party or its leadership under Mamata Banerjee.
The Rajya Sabha bypoll for the vacant seat is scheduled for October 16.
Mallick had been elected to the Rajya Sabha as a TMC candidate in March this year but resigned from the Upper House in July without attending a parliamentary session, according to the source material.
Her resignation had triggered speculation about a possible political switch, particularly after she met Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice-President C.P. Radhakrishnan in New Delhi on July 16 to submit her resignation. She subsequently met Union Minister Bhupender Yadav, further fuelling speculation about her next political move.
Her BJP candidature follows a series of developments involving former TMC Rajya Sabha members who resigned after the party’s electoral setback and were subsequently re-elected from their vacated seats as BJP candidates.
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