Rebel TMC MPs explore merger with NDA ally, seek separate seating

New Delhi: In a move that could formalise their shift to the BJP-led NDA, rebel Trinamool Congress MPs on Sunday indicated they may merge with the Nationalist Citizen Party of India, an NDA constituent. They met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla seeking a separate seating arrangement in Parliament and also held talks with Union minister Bhupender Yadav in New Delhi.

Among those who met Birla and Yadav were Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Satabdi Roy, Saayoni Ghosh, Mala Roy and Arup Chakraborty. Sources in the rebel camp said a merger with the NCP is being explored as a way to avoid disqualification under the anti-defection law and facilitate their formal entry into the ruling alliance. BJP MP Nishikant Dubey was also present at the meeting with Yadav.

The rebel group currently claims the support of 20 Lok Sabha MPs, a figure that suspended TMC leader Riju Dutta said could rise to 22. Dutta asserted that the dissidents would back the NDA and were considering organisational steps both in Parliament and the West Bengal Assembly.


"The rebel MPs are heading to Delhi. Two more MPs are likely to join, taking the number from 20 to 22. On Monday, all rebel MPs will meet the Speaker," Dutta said, adding that the group would support the NDA.

The developments came as the Mamata Banerjee camp scrambled to contain the crisis, with senior TMC leaders Gautam Deb and Chandrima Bhattacharya holding consultations with the party chief in Kolkata.

The rebellion has triggered a legal and political battle within the TMC, with Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose warning that there is no provision under the anti-defection law for a "separate group" to function within Parliament while retaining seats won on the party symbol.

She argued that dissident MPs must either merge with another political party under the provisions of the Tenth Schedule or face disqualification.

The crisis has already seen 58 rebel MLAs rally behind expelled legislator Ritabrata Banerjee in West Bengal, while three Rajya Sabha MPs - Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, Sushmita Dev and Prakash Baraik - have resigned from both the Upper House and the party.