New Delhi/Kolkata: Twenty rebel Trinamool Congress MPs informed Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Sunday that they will merge with the relatively unknown Nationalist Citizens' Party of India (NCPI) from Tripura and urged him to allot them a separate sitting block in Lok Sabha along with NDA parties.
NCPI Becomes Fourth Biggest Party in Lok Sabha
The merger will make NCPI, whose slogan is "To save your rights, reject political turncoats", the fourth biggest party in Lok Sabha. Registered in Howrah, the party is now poised to emerge as the second-biggest bloc (20 Lok Sabha members) in NDA after the BJP (240), ahead of TDP (16) and JDU (12).
Strategic Move to Avoid Legal Hurdles
The rebels' decision to merge with another party, instead of staking claim to Trinamool's name and symbol despite having a two-thirds majority in Lok Sabha (20 out of 28 MPs), seems aimed at circumventing potential legal hurdles before the monsoon session of Parliament, which starts next month. The rebel bloc, however, has not abandoned its plan to stake claim to the name ‘All India Trinamool Congress' and its symbol.
Boosting NDA Tally
NCPI's support will take NDA's tally to 313 as part of what is seen as the BJP's all-out efforts to attain the two-thirds mark of 361 in Lok Sabha after its lack of super majority led to the fall of its bill to amend women reservation law and push delimitation to raise House seats from 543 to 850 in Parliament's last session.
Mamata Banerjee Camp's Response
The Mamata Banerjee camp, desperate to prevent a split, sent two of its MPs — Sagarika Ghose and Kirti Azad — to the Speaker half an hour before the rebel MPs called on him. During their meeting, they stressed that Trinamool was a "single, indivisible political party" and cited the Supreme Court's 2022 order in the case of division in Shiv Sena to argue that "recognition as a separate group or faction of Trinamool is unknown to law and impermissible". Their letter to the Speaker also said the party had the right to be heard before any decision was made and reserved its right to challenge it.
Legal Framework on Splits and Mergers
The law does not recognise a split but makes an exception for merger of two-thirds members of one party with another.
Rebel MPs' Leadership and Future Plans
Rebel MP Arup Chakraborty indicated that first-time MP Saayoni Ghosh will be their floor leader. "Saayoni Ghosh is our leader. Under the leadership of Bengal's CM, our double-engine govt wants to work for the interest of the nation. If BJP asks for our help, we will help them. If we want their help, we will ask for it." Sudip suggested that merging with NCPI was a stopgap measure, but this was not immediately corroborated by Kakoli. "These 20 MPs constitute more than two-thirds of our strength (in Lok Sabha). We are merging with Nationalist Citizens' Party. Moving forward, we will work for the nation and collaborate with NDA under the leadership of the PM."
Internal Disquiet Among Rebels
According to some sources, there was disquiet in the rebel camp — even during their meeting at Union minister Bhupender Yadav's Delhi residence — about staking claim to Trinamool's name and symbol. While Saayoni, June Malia, Mitali Bag and a few others wanted to quit Trinamool, the camp led by Kakoli and supported by Satabdi Roy was in favour of requesting the Speaker to recognise them as the real Trinamool. A third, much smaller group, wanted Mamata Banerjee to be the rebel bloc's adviser.
