Story perspectives

Koel Mallick Nominated as BJP Candidate for West Bengal Rajya Sabha By-Poll

By Drooid · Oct 5, 2026, 10:34 AM UTC · How we work

Left

Parachuted Defector Hypocrisy

Actress Koel Mallick joined the Bharatiya Janata Party and was nominated as its candidate for the West Bengal Rajya Sabha by-poll on 16 October 2026.
Left-leaning coverage argues that parachuting a celebrity defector into Parliament erodes grassroots trust and reveals party hypocrisy.
She became the fourth former Trinamool MP nominated by the BJP, prompting critics like Mamata loyalist Kunal Ghosh to call the move textbook political hypocrisy harming grassroots loyalists.

Right

Clean Record Assertion

Actress Koel Mallick joined the Bharatiya Janata Party and was nominated as its West Bengal Rajya Sabha candidate on 16 October 2026.
BJP officials noted no corruption complaint against Mallick, who said she is proud to serve Bengal’s people under the party’s development agenda.
She resigned from Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha seat on 16 July 2026 after the party’s defeat.
BJP West Bengal secretary Sashi Agnihotri announced she will file her nomination on 6 October 2026.

Blindspot

Mamata loyalist Kunal Ghosh said the BJP’s nomination of former Trinamool Congress MP Koel Mallick was textbook political hypocrisy that harms the ecosystem of grassroots loyalists.
Within this story's sources, this criticism appears mainly in Left-leaning coverage and receives less attention in Right-leaning coverage.

History

Historical Context

In the 1998 Indian general election, the Bharatiya Janata Party secured 182 Lok Sabha seats, a record that propelled its national rise. The party’s high-profile recruitment of veteran actress Hema Malini, who won the Mathura constituency with 4.2 lakh votes, illustrated this strategy. Similarly, on 16 October 2026 the BJP nominated actress Koel Mallick for the West Bengal Rajya Sabha seat, prompting Trinamool leader Kunal Ghosh to label it hypocrisy. These celebrity defections signal the BJP’s continued reliance on star power to expand influence, potentially reshaping West Bengal’s parliamentary dynamics.

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Parachuted Defector Hypocrisy

Actress Koel Mallick joined the Bharatiya Janata Party and was nominated as its candidate for the West Bengal Rajya Sabha by-poll on 16 October 2026.
Left-leaning coverage argues that parachuting a celebrity defector into Parliament erodes grassroots trust and reveals party hypocrisy.
She became the fourth former Trinamool MP nominated by the BJP, prompting critics like Mamata loyalist Kunal Ghosh to call the move textbook political hypocrisy harming grassroots loyalists.

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