New Delhi: The crisis engulfing the Trinamool Congress worsened on Sunday as rebel MPs announced the merger of their faction with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), a little-known regional party. The dissident MPs also met Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla seeking a separate seating arrangement in the House. Post the merger, the rebel faction would support the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
Speaking to reporters after their meeting with the Speaker, rebel MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar said 20 TMC MPs had signed a representation submitted to Birla.
"Two-thirds of TMC MPs have given a letter to the Speaker for a separate seating arrangement. We will merge with the Nationalist Citizens Party and support the NDA," she said.
According to the dissident camp, the Speaker verified the signatures of the 20 MPs who backed the representation.
Lok Sabha MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay also said the rebel faction would also fight in court to be recognised as the real TMC and will stake claim to its poll symbol. However, TMC parliamentary party leader Abhishek Banerjee urged the Speaker not to accord any recognition to the breakaway faction.
Before meeting the Speaker, the breakaway faction had met at the residence of Union Minister Bhupender Yadav.
The Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) is a Tripura-based registered unrecognised party that does not enjoy any significant political presence. It had contested from three seats in the 2023 Tripura polls, with its candidates finishing either behind NOTA or securing only a few votes more.
The new developments come against the backdrop of an internal turmoil in TMC that affected both its legislative and parliamentary wings, challenging the authority of Mamata Banerjee, the TMC supremo.
Last week, 64 of the party's 80 MLAs broke away and secured recognition as a separate legislative formation, with Ritabrata Banerjee being recognised as the Leader of Opposition. That decision has been challenged by the Mamata Banerjee-led party before the Calcutta High Court.
-With agency inputs from PTI
