Koel Mallick gets BJP ticket

Tollywood actress Koel Mallick has got a BJP ticket for the Rajya Sabha by-election to the seat she vacated after resigning as a Trinamool Congress MP.

The BJP’s central leadership announced Mallick’s nomination on Sunday (October 4). The by-election to the seat is scheduled for October 16.

Mallick resigned as a Rajya Sabha member on July 16 after meeting Vice President CP Radhakrishnan in New Delhi. She had been nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the Trinamool Congress in February and took oath as a member on April 6.

Three other former Trinamool Rajya Sabha members—Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, Sushmita Dev and Prakash Chik Baraik—had earlier resigned and later joined the BJP. The BJP subsequently nominated all three for Rajya Sabha by-elections.