20 Trinamool Congress MPs Merge with NCPI, Boost NDA's Lok Sabha Count

Trinamool Congress rebels NCPI merger Lok Sabha seats NDA boost anti-defection law

Twenty Lok Sabha members of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) who rebelled against party leader Mamata Banerjee have formally merged with the little‑known Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI). The MPs submitted a request to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, claiming they represent more than two‑thirds of TMC’s parliamentary strength and seeking separate seating and recognition as the "real" TMC.

The move is designed to bypass the anti‑defection law, as a collective merger into an existing registered party avoids disqualification. NCPI, registered in 2022, operates mainly in Tripura, West Bengal and Assam and has no electoral footprint. Its founder Shantanu Dey welcomed the influx, saying the party will work with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP‑led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

If approved, the NDA’s Lok Sabha tally could rise from 294 to about 314 seats, bringing the coalition closer to the two‑thirds majority needed for constitutional amendments. The Congress party has accused Home Minister Amit Shah of orchestrating the “illegal breakaway” to engineer that majority. TMC leadership has called the merger illegal under the anti‑defection law and asked the Speaker to reject any recognition of a separate faction.

Rebel leaders Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Satabdi Roy and Sudip Bandyopadhyay have said they will support the NDA and pursue legal action to claim the TMC election symbol. The episode marks a major internal crisis for the TMC and a potential realignment of India’s parliamentary politics.