20 rebel Trinamool Lok Sabha members are seeking a merger with the nationalist Civic Party of India

Rebel TMC MPs met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla at his residence on 14 June 2026. Photo: Special arrangement

After days of speculation, 20 rebel Trinamool Congress MPs met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla at his New Delhi residence on Sunday (June 14, 2026) and submitted a letter announcing their decision to merge with the National Citizens Party of India (NCPI).

The rebels’ decision to merge with a registered regional political party rather than form a separate bloc within the Trinamool Congress was to avoid legal complications arising from the anti-crossing law. The law says that when two-thirds of a political party’s legislators decide to merge with another party, neither those who join the new party nor those who stay with the original party face disqualification.

“The MPs met the Speaker and asked for separate seating arrangements. We are more than two-thirds of the MPs (of the Trinamool Congress) and we are merging with the Indian Nationalist Citizens Party. We will work with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the NDA for the sake of the country,” Dr. told reporters after the meeting. Whatever Ghosh Dastidar.

The Speaker’s office confirmed that 19 MPs took part in the meeting. However, the rebel faction claims the support of 20 MPs, with Sudip Bandyopadhyay joining the group on Saturday (June 13).

Mr. Bandyopadhyay, a senior lawmaker in the rebel camp, said that while the MPs are now merging with the NCPI, they will seek recognition as the Trinamool Congress in July, when the parliamentary session begins, as they have a two-thirds majority.

“We are merging with the Nationalist Civic Party, which is a registered regional party. This is the system. When you leave with two-thirds of the party, you cannot demand the name of that party on the first day. In July, we will seek recognition as Trinamool Congress because we have two-thirds of its MPs. Then the courts will decide,” Mr. Bandyopadhyay.

According to the Election Commission of India, NCPI was registered in January 2023 with its registered office at Sankrail in Howrah district of West Bengal.

After the Trinamool Congress’s defeat in the 2026 West Bengal parliamentary elections, a majority of its Lok Sabha MPs decided to form a separate bloc and held a meeting at the residence of Union Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Bhupendra Yadav.

On Sunday (June 14), most of the MPs gathered at Mr Yadav’s residence before meeting the Speaker. The decision to join with an almost unknown regional party came as a surprise in political circles.

Before the rebel MPs met the Speaker, two MPs considered loyal to Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee also met Mr Birla and presented a letter from Abhishek Banerjee. A letter from a party leader in the Lok Sabha urged the Speaker to treat the Trinamool Congress as a single party represented by its authorized whip and leader and urged him not to recognize any separate group.

“I respectfully request that you place this submission on record; treat the AITC as a single political party represented in the House solely through its duly authorized leader and whip and refuse to grant any recognition, status or facility to any alleged separate group or faction of the AITC,” the letter said, adding that the speaker should give the AITC an opportunity to hear any decision.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the Trinamool Congress won 29 seats. Basirhat Trinamool Congress MP Haji Sheikh Nurul Islam died in September 2024, increasing the party’s strength in the House to 28.

The eight MPs who have remained loyal to Ms Banerjee are Abhishek Banerjee, Kalyan Banerjee, Saugata Roy, Mahua Maitra, Kirti Azad, Shatrughan Sinha, Pratima Mondal and Sajda Ahmed.

Ahead of the revolt by the Lok Sabha MPs, about 60 of the 80 Trinamool Congress MLAs broke away from the party leadership and threw their weight behind expelled Trinamool MLA Ritabrata Banerjee, who was subsequently elected Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly.

Published – 14 Jun 2026 20:48 IST