NEW DELHI: Top aide of Mamata Banerjee and Trinamool Congress leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay met Union minister Bhupendra Singh on Saturday. Rebel TMC MP Satabdi Roy was also present at the meeting. Bandyopadhyay's name was not in the list of 19 of 20 rebel TMC MPs who have expressed their willingness to side with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the Lok Sabha.
Kunal Ghosh's Reaction
TMC MLA Kunal Ghosh reacted to Bandyopadhyay's meeting with Singh, stating that he has a 'history of changing parties'. 'Mamata didi gave positions and honour to these people, and this is what these people give in return. Sudip Bandyopadhyay has a history of changing parties...We had said that he is not good and his politics worked only by misleading Mamata didi. I was once suspended by the party for it. Today, it is being proved that what I said that day was correct,' he said.
Rebel MPs' Schedule
The rebel MPs are scheduled to meet West Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari on Sunday, ahead of their meeting with the Lok Sabha Speaker. 'West Bengal CM will meet the rebel TMC MPs in Delhi, ahead of the rebel TMC MPs' meeting with the Lok Sabha Speaker,' ANI quoted rebel TMC MP Jagdish Basunia saying. However, he did not say that there would be 20 rebel MPs who would meet the Lok Sabha Speaker. 'We have been given a date for Monday (15th June) (for meeting with Lok Sabha Speaker). All (rebel) MPs will go to him, all of they are coming to Delhi tomorrow. A meeting of all MPs with CM (Suvendu Adhikari) will be held on Sunday (14th June) and then we will go to the Speaker on Monday...19 MPs will be there,' he said.
Background of the Crisis
Earlier, rebel TMC MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar had revealed that 20 MPs have formally requested separate seating in the Lok Sabha, a move widely seen as reflecting a split within the party's parliamentary wing. The development comes against the backdrop of mounting friction within the TMC after its disappointing showing in the 2026 West Bengal assembly elections, which is said to have deepened divisions between senior party leaders and the Mamata Banerjee-led central leadership.
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