Trinamool Congress MPs Shift Allegiance to Nationalist Citizens Party, Support NDA

In a significant political shift, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, a prominent leader of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), announced on Sunday that 20 MPs from her party will be merging with the Nationalist Citizens Party (NCP) and will lend their support to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which is led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). This announcement came shortly after the group of MPs met with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to discuss their new political alignment.

Dastidar stated that the MPs have formally requested to sit separately in the Lok Sabha, emphasizing that this faction represents more than two-thirds of the TMC’s total strength in Parliament. “These twenty MPs, elected from the All India Trinamool Congress, have decided to take this bold step forward,” she said during a press briefing, adding that this move signals a significant change in the party’s dynamics.

Among the MPs who joined this faction, Sudip Bandyopadhyay highlighted that the Nationalist Citizens Party is a regional entity that aims to strengthen the voice of its constituents. He indicated that in July, this rebel faction plans to demand the right to use the Trinamool Congress name, leveraging the fact that a majority of MPs now support their cause. This decision appears to be a strategic maneuver amidst ongoing internal rifts within the TMC.

The backdrop of this development is crucial, as it follows a tense period within the TMC. Recently, two other TMC MPs, Kirti Azad and Sagarika Ghose, had submitted a letter to Speaker Birla, which was originally penned by party National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee. The letter argued against the recognition of any splinter faction from the TMC within the House, reflecting the party leadership’s concerns over potential fragmentation.

Currently, the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC holds 28 seats in the Lok Sabha. The party had initially won 29 seats during the 2024 general elections, but the recent death of the MP from Basirhat has impeded their numbers. This latest political maneuver could have profound implications not only for the TMC but also for the broader political landscape in India as alliances shift ahead of the upcoming elections.

Source: scroll.in