Kolkata: Actor Koel Mallick joined the growing list of Trinamool Congress defectors on Thursday when she wrote to Rajya Sabha chairman CP Radhakrishnan to resign as an MP a little more than three months into her six-year term.Mallick met Union environment minister and BJP Bengal central observer Bhupender Yadav in New Delhi soon after she quit to follow in the footsteps of three of her one-time Rajya Sabha colleagues, Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, Sushmita Dev and Prakash Chik Baraik. All three are now BJP RS candidates from Bengal.The spate of defections prompted Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee to ask all fence-sitters to “make up their minds and leave by July 21” (which the party observes as Martyrs’ Day) and not tarnish the outfit she built. “Those who feel compelled to leave under BJP pressure, or because of police, ED, CBI, CID … or legal cases: I fold my hands and request them to decide before July 21 and leave with all their belongings. Please do not tarnish the party we built. But never imagine that by disgracing the party you are elevating ... (yourself). Protect your family, you need to safeguard your family, property, baggage,” Banerjee said on Facebook Live.“Today, another MP, a talented artist whom I respect, went to resign after meeting a BJP senior. She had already sent an email earlier (resigning). Today she went to submit it in person,” she added.Former Bengal power minister Manish Gupta joined Mallick in resigning from Trinamool on Thursday. Gupta, a former state chief secretary, famously unseated Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee from the latter’s Jadavpur Assembly constituency in 2011. “I have been sidelined for the last five years. They did not utilise me. Age (too) is a major factor. I am not only leaving Trinamool but also quitting politics entirely,” he said, not forgetting to praise CM Suvendu Adhikari as a deft administrator. “I am not aligned with any camp, I have simply decided to leave politics,” he added.Mallick, a surprise pick for Rajya Sabha, has been in the US since late June. Her official social media handles featured photos from New York and Washington DC, but she consciously refrained from commenting on her political future. Mallick’s producer-husband, Nishpal Singh, was among the four who seconded former CM Banerjee’s nomination from Bhowanipore before the Assembly poll.Trinamool MP and senior lawyer Kalyan Banerjee argued that the staggered resignations were part of a BJP ploy to sweep Bengal RS seats: “There would have been polling for four RS seats from Bengal had all four RS MPs resigned together. But the BJP would not have won one seat.” There are 85 opposition MLAs in Bengal Assembly (though Trinamool right now is too fractured to win any seat).Former CM Banerjee said the defections would have no impact. “You may leave the party but that will not weaken us. We will begin anew on July 21. It does not matter who comes or who stays away. Those who remain are our real treasure,” she said, alleging that the administration was trying to prevent martyrs’ families from reaching the rally venue next Tuesday.“I have heard that martyrs’ families have been told by police not to come here. They are being intimidated into joining the camp in office, which means they will be given a lot of money. We are a very small party but have helped these families for the last 40 years with jobs and other support,” she added.But she also stressed that intimidation or bribery was pointless: “It is up to you (the kin of the martyrs) to decide where you will go. It does not matter whether you are with us this year or not, you are bound to us in our hearts.”Banerjee claimed that even some of those who apparently left the original Trinamool were secretly keeping in touch with her.Erasing a political party was no easy feat, she said. “They (BJP) claim they will erase every trace, every sign. They are doing whatever they want with Delhi’s backing. But many parties have changed names and symbols have changed. But they cannot destroy the party’s vision or mission,” Banerjee added.
