Actor Koel Mallick joins BJP and gets Rajya Sabha nomination months after leaving Trinamool

UPDATE - follow-up to Trinamool MP to BJP Rajya Sabha pick in 6 months: Curious case of Koel Mallick: Bengali actor Koel Mallick has officially joined the BJP and been named as the party's candidate for a Rajya Sabha seat. Mallick filed her nomination in Kolkata after joining the BJP at the party office on Muralidhar Sen Lane, in the presence of West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and state president Samik Bhattacharya.

Background

This follows her earlier brief tenure as a Rajya Sabha member for the Trinamool Congress, which began when she took the oath on April 6 after being chosen by the party in February. Following the Trinamool's defeat in the state Assembly elections and the BJP coming to power, Mallick resigned from her Rajya Sabha seat on July 16 and subsequently met Union Minister Bhupender Yadav in Delhi.

Context

Party switches by politicians and public figures often follow major shifts in state election outcomes and shifts in regional power. The BJP has previously brought in other former Trinamool MPs like Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, Sushmita Dev, and Prakash Chik Baraik shortly after their departures.