NEW DELHI: Rebel TMC MPs have merged with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) to circumvent disqualification under the anti-defection law, subsequently taking over the party. Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, a longtime confidant of TMC chairperson Mamata Banerjee and the face of the rebellion among the party's Lok Sabha MPs, was elected president of NCPI days before the breakaway faction of 20 MPs met Speaker Om Birla on Sunday to inform him of their merger with the little-known party, which has suddenly gained national prominence.
Sources revealed that the fourth-term MP was elected president on May 30, and two days prior, the incumbent Shewly Kundu had resigned, apparently as part of a mutually agreed takeover of the largely obscure party by the rebels. The process began after the rebels first informed Birla about their decision to leave TMC, asserting that they enjoyed the support of over two-thirds of its 28-MP contingent in the House.
Although the BJP leadership has made no official comments on their party's association with the breakaway faction, West Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari, Union minister Bhupender Yadav, and seasoned MP Nishikant Dubey have been involved in discussions with them, helping shape their strategy and future course of action. The BJP has not been shy about its role, as several meetings of the rebels took place at Yadav's residence.
The situation culminated in 20 rebel MPs informing Birla on Sunday about their decision to merge with NCPI and to be part of the BJP-led NDA. They requested that they be allotted seats with the governing alliance, as they were previously part of the opposition benches as TMC members led by Abhishek Banerjee, Mamata's nephew and putative heir, who has become the focal point of their anger and disaffection due to his alleged arrogance and circumvention of internal party structures.
Sixth-term parliamentarian Sudip Bandyopadhyay is the senior-most member among the rebels, but he joined them only a few days ago, after Kakoli's election as NCPI president by the party's political affairs committee.
NCPI was registered as a political party in January 2023, with a building in Sankarail in West Bengal's Howrah district as its address in the Election Commission's records. It fielded four candidates in the Tripura assembly polls in 2023, with the highest vote count being 536. The EC lists it as one of over 2,000 registered unrecognised political parties (RUPPs), organisations that have not yet met the criteria for recognition as state or national parties.
If Birla approves the merger, NCPI will become the fifth largest party in the Lok Sabha and the second biggest constituent of the governing NDA after the BJP. This marks a significant turnaround for a party that previously had no members in Parliament or any state assembly.
