KOLKATA — Renowned Bengali film actor Rukmini Mallick, popularly known as Koyel Mallick, formally filed her nomination papers on Monday as the Bharatiya Janata Party’s candidate for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections in West Bengal. The nomination was submitted at the office of the Assembly’s principal secretary inside the Vidhan Sabha Bhavan in the presence of West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and the party’s state unit president and Upper House member Samik Bhattacharya.
The formal filing followed Mallick’s induction into the BJP at its state party headquarters earlier in the day, coming barely 24 hours after the party leadership nominated her for the Upper House seat. The daughter of veteran film actor Ranjit Mallick, she had previously served a brief tenure as a Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP from April to July 2026 before relinquishing her seat.
Chief Minister Adhikari offered early congratulations on social media, expressing full confidence in her victory and presenting Mallick with a framed portrait of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at his assembly office to mark the occasion. Senior state ministers Tapas Roy and Sankar Ghosh also attended the nomination filing ceremony at the legislative complex.
Elections for 12 Rajya Sabha seats spanning Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal are scheduled to take place on October 16. With the BJP commanding a clear majority in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, Mallick is comfortably positioned to secure election to the Upper House.
