India's West Bengal and Meghalaya see political realignments

The Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), a little‑known outfit founded in 2022 and registered at a Howrah residence, suddenly became West Bengal's largest parliamentary party after 20 of the 29 Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs from the state defected to join it. The party, which previously contested a few seats in Tripura and has ties to the RSS and BJP, now holds a dominant position in the state legislature despite its obscurity.

In the northeastern state of Meghalaya, BJP president Rikman G. Momin publicly ruled out any attempts to poach legislators from the alliance partner National People's Party (NPP) or to destabilise the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government. He also said no TMC or NPP members are currently in contact with the BJP, dismissing speculation of defections ahead of the 2028 assembly elections.