TMC rebellion deepens as 17 rebel MPs set to join BJP in October
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New Delhi: The Trinamool Congress is facing another major blow as rebel Lok Sabha MP Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia has said 17 of the party’s 20 rebel MPs will join the Bharatiya Janata Party in October, deepening the political crisis within the opposition party, according to reports.
Basunia said the lawmakers are expected to switch sides either before or after Durga Puja, which runs from October 6 to 10. The 17 MPs had earlier merged with the Tripura-based Nationalist Citizens Party of India, a move that allowed the group to support the National Democratic Alliance in the Lok Sabha.
Three members of the rebel group — Abu Taher Khan, Khalilur Rahaman and Yusuf Pathan — are not expected to formally enter the BJP but will support the NDA. Basunia indicated that they could be offered significant organisational or government responsibilities.
The developments follow the June decision by 20 of the TMC’s 28 Lok Sabha MPs to merge with the NCPI. The Lok Sabha Speaker later allowed the rebels to sit separately, though the group has not been formally recognised as the NCPI in the House.
TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee has challenged the rebels’ move, seeking their disqualification under the Constitution’s 10th Schedule. He has argued that the merger provision requires two-thirds of the political party, rather than merely its legislature party, to merge.
The turmoil extends beyond the Lok Sabha. Three former TMC Rajya Sabha MPs joined the BJP in July, while another resigned later that month, reducing the party’s Upper House strength from 13 to nine. The defections come after the TMC’s defeat in the state Assembly elections and a wider rebellion among its legislators.