Koel Mallick
Sen and Bandyopadhyay, however, were members nominated by President under Article 80. Immediately after her resignation on July 16, Koel met with Union environment minister and BJP central observer for Bengal, Bhupender Yadav .
Reacting to Koel’s nomination, Mamata Trinamool spokesperson and Beleghata MLA Kunal Ghosh said, “I think neither Koel nor Ranjit Mallick did justice to their prestige (by this flip). Her mother, Deepa Mallick, said: “A Rajya Sabha nomination is a very big thing. When Didi was the chief minister, they loved Trinamool, and when BJP is in office, they lean towards them. It was Mamata Banerjee who brought both father and daughter into politics — Mallick was made the sheriff of Kolkata and Koel was made an MP. They have replicated the same model (in which Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, Sushmita Dev, and Prakash Chik Baraik quit TMC, joined BJP, and retained their Rajya Sabha seats). Such actions only invite the same old question — what did Didi see in such elements? We are happy that she has been able to balance her career and personal life while earning this prestigious nomination. My husband and I also feel that a Rajya Sabha nomination has nothing to do with politics. We have seen stalwarts like Mrinal Sen and Tarashankar Bandyopadhyay getting nominated to the Rajya Sabha. Koel did not cite a reason for her resignation.