The rebel faction of Trinamool Congress MPs in the Lok Sabha, led by Dr. Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar and Satabdi Roy, has opted to join the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) based in Tripura. They formally submitted a letter to the Lok Sabha Speaker announcing this decision. Ghosh Dastidar stated that they would collaborate with the NDA, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for the nation’s benefit.
Confirming this move, Trinamool Congress MP Arup Chakraborty mentioned that the NCPI would establish offices in various locations across West Bengal. The NCPI, founded in 2022, currently operates in Assam, Tripura, and West Bengal, with an office in Bankra, Howrah district. The rebel MPs have chosen to align with this relatively lesser-known political entity.
Earlier, the rebel MPs had hinted at forming a separate bloc within Trinamool Congress in the Lok Sabha, akin to their arrangement in the West Bengal Assembly, and seeking NDA’s backing. However, following recent developments, Trinamool Congress General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee opposed the recognition of any new bloc within the party, emphasizing that MPs should not act independently of the party’s policies.
Subsequently, 20 rebel MPs met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, expressing their resolution to join the NCPI and support the NDA. Amid speculations of a potential merger between Trinamool Congress and Congress, the rebel MPs decided to make their move. Observers suggest that this collective shift to another party was likely to avoid legal entanglements, with plans to expand NCPI’s presence in West Bengal.
