All rebel MPs from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) are likely to merge with another political outfit, the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), and extend its support to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the Centre, said rebel TMC MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar on Sunday (June 14).
With this development, the Nationalist Citizen Party has become the second-largest constituent of the NDA after the BJP in terms of Lok Sabha strength, overtaking the TDP, which has 16 MPs.
After meeting Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Dastidar said, "We, the 20 MPs elected from the AITC, met the Speaker and submitted a letter requesting to sit separately; these twenty MPs constitute more than two-thirds of our total strength. We are merging with the Nationalist Citizens Party. Moving forward, we will work for the nation and collaborate with the NDA under the leadership of the Prime Minister."
"These elected 20 MPs, are more than 2/3rd of party's strength. We met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, we will work with NDA in the leadership of PM Modi," she added.Meanwhile, MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay said, "We merged with Nationalist Citizens Party, this is a political party, a recognised regional party. It will be decided in court which is the real TMC."
The Nationalist Citizens Party has a presence in Assam, Tripura, Bengal, the Northeast, and other regions. The party has previously contested elections in Tripura. During the 2023 Tripura Assembly elections, Jahangir Ali contested from the Kailashahar constituency in Unakoti district on the Nationalist Citizens Party ticket.
Rebel MPs meet Bhupender Yadav before visiting Lok Sabha Speaker
According to sources, the decision regarding the proposed merger was discussed when the rebel TMC MPs held a meeting with Union Minister Bhupender Yadav. Sources further claimed that BJP MP Biplab Kumar Deb from Tripura was also present during the meeting, where the merger proposal was deliberated.
The rebel TMC MPs also met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla at his residence in Delhi to demand a separate sitting arrangement in the House amid a split in the party.
The visit came a day after confidant Sudip Bandyopadhyay, seen as one of Mamata Banerjee's closest aides, joined the rebel camp after meeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Yadav in Delhi.
It is pertinent to mention that the TMC has been grappling with a major rebellion among its legislators and parliamentarians following its defeat in the West Bengal Assembly elections. The rebels have claimed two more MPs are set to join them, taking their strength in the Lok Sabha to 22.
There has been no official confirmation from the rebel TMC leaders or the Nationalist Citizens Party regarding the merger.
Rebel TMC Lok Sabha MPs
The 20 rebel TMC Lok Sabha MPs are:
Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar
Satabdi Roy
Bapi Haldar
Sharmila Sarkar
Prasun Bandyopadhyay
Jagadish Barma Basunia
Asit Kumar Mal
Arup Chakraborty
Rachna Banerjee
Saayoni Ghosh
Khalilur Rahaman
Abu Taher Khan
Yusuf Pathan
Mitali Bag
Mala Roy
Kalipada Soren
Deepak Adhikari
June Malia
Partha Bhowmick
Sudip Bandyopadhyay