Koel Mallick is the third TMC Rajya Sabha MP to tender her resignation after Sushmita Dev and Sukhendu Sekhar Roy—both of whom resigned earlier and joined the BJP this week.

Koel Mallick is the third TMC Rajya Sabha MP to tender her resignation after Sushmita Dev and Sukhendu Sekhar Roy—both of whom resigned earlier and joined the BJP this week.

Koel Mallick is the third TMC Rajya Sabha MP to tender her resignation after Sushmita Dev and Sukhendu Sekhar Roy—both of whom resigned earlier and joined the BJP this week.

A day after Mamata Banerjee’s close aide, Kamarhati MLA Madan Mitra, switched over to the rebel bloc and was seen with Ritabrata Banerjee, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo faced another setback with Rajya Sabha MP Koel Mallick’s resignation.

Mallick was then seen with Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav, giving rise to speculations of her joining the BJP.

Mallick is the third RS MP to tender her resignation after Sushmita Dev and Sukhendu Shekhar Roy—both of whom resigned earlier and joined the BJP this week. 

Responding to Mallick’s resignation, Mamata noted that the MP had sent an email earlier, and physically submitted her resignation on Thursday.

“I saw one more MP, a cinema artist, good artist, I respect her—she went for a meeting with a BJP leader and resigned. She had sent an email earlier itself,” said Mamata Banerjee, thanking her.

Mamata went on to say that those who wanted to go to the BJP due to pressure from investigating agencies or the courts should leave before Martyrs' Day, which the TMC always observes in a grand manner.

“I appeal to them to take decisions before July 21 .Those who want to survive, go anywhere ... don’t put a black mark on the party we formed,” the TMC supremo added.

However, she also pointed out that those who already switched sides were also secretly in touch with her faction.

Unlike every year, this time, the Mamata faction will not hold their July 21 rally in front of Victoria House, but near the Birla Planetarium instead. The Ritabrata faction will also hold the July 21 rally at another location less than a kilometre away.  

The TMC supremo said the exodus would not weaken her.

“I heard that the families of the July 21 martyrs have been told by the police not to come here but to go to the BJP side, which means they will be given a lot of money. We are a very meagre party, we have helped these families for the last 40 years with jobs and other ways,” noted Mamata.

She also said that during her rule as CM, her government had started a fund for martyrs' families, which was given to them every year.

Mamata went on to say that no intimidation or bribery would be tolerated.

“Whether you are with us this year or not, you are bound to us in our hearts.” 

The TMC supremo says her faction will walk a new path on July 21, and that "whoever is with us or not with us, we don’t care". 

Mamata also spoke of her old fight against the former Left Front government—highlighting her protests and hunger strikes—as examples of her being a fighter and not giving up.

While lashing out at the BJP and the rebel bloc of the TMC, she said that the goal and mission could never be changed, despite changing the party name and symbol.

With several of her trusted aides switching sides to the rebel faction of BJP, Mamata has lost out on majority support she garners during the July 21 rallies, which has long served as a platform for her political messaging.

While the messaging has often been election-related, this time, the question is whether it will be powerful enough to resurrect her faction enough to take on the BJP.  

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