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Popular Bengali actress Koel Mallick has been nominated as the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) candidate for the Rajya Sabha by-election in West Bengal.
Mallick had earlier been elected to the Rajya Sabha in April this year on a ticket from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC). However, she resigned from the upper house in July without attending any parliamentary session.
Following her resignation, the Election Commission scheduled a by-election for the vacant seat on October 16.
Mallick’s decision to resign as a TMC lawmaker and contest the by-election on a BJP ticket has drawn sharp criticism from TMC legislator Kunal Ghosh.
Ghosh described the actress as a “traitor” and also criticised Banerjee’s decision to nominate her to the Rajya Sabha.
“Koel Mallick is a prominent actress. Mamata Banerjee had thought of sending her to the Rajya Sabha. When Mamata Banerjee was chief minister, you liked the TMC. Now that she is no longer chief minister, you immediately had to join the BJP,” Ghosh said.
The BJP has included Mallick’s name in its list of candidates for the Rajya Sabha by-election. Reports said she is expected to join the BJP before filing her nomination papers.
The last date for filing nominations is April 6, according to the report. Based on the current political arithmetic, Mallick is considered likely to win the seat.
Mallick is the daughter of veteran Bengali actor Ranjit Mallick. She holds a BSc degree in psychology and married Nispal Singh in 2013.
One of the familiar faces of Bengali cinema, Mallick had until recently served as a Rajya Sabha member representing the TMC.