Dramatic and sensational developments unlike anything seen before have unfolded in West Bengal politics. In a move that has dealt a potentially devastating blow to Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief and former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, her own party’s MPs have staged a stunning revolt. As many as 20 out of the TMC’s total 28 Lok Sabha MPs have raised the banner of rebellion, and their decision to extend support to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led NDA alliance is sending shockwaves through national politics. The irony is stark — while Mamata Banerjee remains a partner in the INDIA bloc at the national level, her own party’s MPs are tilting toward the NDA.
A Watertight Legal Strategy
To protect their parliamentary membership and shield themselves from legal and technical complications, the rebel MPs executed a meticulously planned strategy. Under the Tenth Schedule of the Indian Constitution (the Anti-Defection Law), if two-thirds or more of a party’s elected representatives break away and merge with another party, they cannot be disqualified. Leveraging precisely this provision, the rebels united as a group of 20 out of 28 — more than two-thirds. However, rather than splitting the TMC into two factions and existing as a separate group, they announced a complete merger of their faction into a small regional party that barely exists on paper — all in a bid to legally establish that this is a legitimate “merger,” not a mere “defection.”
The Party With ₹75 in the Bank — Now Poised to Be the 5th Largest in Lok Sabha
The party these 20 MPs chose to merge into is the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) — a registered but unrecognized regional outfit based in Tripura, originally founded to protect the interests of Bengali-speaking communities across Tripura, Assam, Meghalaya, and Bengal. The party doesn’t have a single ward member to its name, and its financial position is staggering — its bank account held a total balance of just ₹75 at the end of the 2022–23 financial year. The Election Commission of India (ECI) doesn’t even have basic audit reports for 2023–24 and 2024–25. In the 2023 Assembly elections, the party fielded three candidates and received a combined total of just 1,198 votes.
Husband as President, Wife as Treasurer
In a curious twist, Uttiya Kundu from West Bengal serves as the party’s president, while his wife Shevli Kundu is its treasurer. This nominal husband-wife party has now been joined by 20 Lok Sabha MPs. If the Speaker approves the merger, this party would overnight become the 5th largest party in the Indian Parliament. Meanwhile, Mamata Banerjee’s TMC — which currently holds the 4th position — would plummet to 9th place with just 8 MPs remaining. It is being reported that Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar is likely to take charge as the head of the new grouping and serve as its floor leader in the Lok Sabha.
“The Courts Will Decide Who the Real TMC Is”
Rebel MP leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay responded to the unexpected political turn, saying: “We have joined the Nationalist Citizens Party, which is a recognized party. We have merged our faction into it. As for who the real TMC is, the courts will decide.” Following a meeting with Union Minister Bhupender Yadav, the rebel MPs called on Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla in Delhi and submitted a merger petition.
Speaker Om Birla is now engaged in serious deliberations over the matter and has sought the opinion of legal and constitutional experts. A final decision is expected before the upcoming Parliament Monsoon Session. Former Lok Sabha Secretary General P.D.T. Achary has noted that the anti-defection law does not apply if an entire faction merges with party leadership approval — but former Election Commission officials point out that the rebels’ novel route of merging into a smaller party is not clearly addressed in existing law.
On the other side, Mamata Banerjee’s nephew and senior TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee wrote an urgent letter to Speaker Om Birla, strongly urging that Trinamool Congress be treated as a single, monolithic party in the Lok Sabha, and that no official recognition or facilities be extended to any rebel faction or group that has broken away. The entire nation now waits with bated breath for the Speaker’s decision.