Trinamool Congress rebels push for separate Lok Sabha bloc as party rejects faction claims

A group of Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs led by Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Sudip Bandyopadhyay and others met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on 14 June 2026, demanding a separate seating arrangement and recognition as a distinct parliamentary bloc. The rebels claim support from 20‑22 of the party’s 28 Lok Sabha MPs and say they have merged with the regional Nationalist Citizens Party of India, pledging support to the BJP‑led NDA.

Concurrently, the party’s parliamentary leader Abhishek Banerjee sent a letter to the Speaker urging that the All India Trinamool Congress be treated as a single, indivisible party and that no status or facilities be granted to any purported faction. Senior leader Madan Mitra labelled the rebels’ move "treachery" and warned of action under the anti‑defection law. Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose reiterated that the law does not permit a separate group to sit in Parliament while retaining seats won on the TMC symbol.

The rebellion also saw rebel MPs meet Union Minister Bhupender Yadav, and it coincides with a split of 58 TMC MLAs in West Bengal and the resignation of three Rajya Sabha members. The crisis pits the central leadership against a dissenting bloc that could alter parliamentary dynamics if it joins the NDA.