Kolkata: In a fresh setback for West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, 20 Lok Sabha MPs of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) have reportedly broken ranks and conveyed support for the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
Led by TMC parliamentary party whip Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, the MPs have written a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla stating their decision to back the NDA in the House. The development has pushed the party’s internal discord to a new peak.
The turmoil follows TMC’s defeat in the West Bengal Assembly election, in which the BJP formed the government for the first time, ending Banerjee’s 15-year rule. Suvendu Adhikari, once seen as a key aide of Banerjee, took oath as the state’s first BJP Chief Minister.
After the loss, dissent within TMC intensified, including criticism aimed at MP Abhishek Banerjee, with some MLAs accusing him of an authoritarian style. A majority of MLAs were said to have backed expelled MLA Rithabrata Banerjee for the post of Leader of Opposition, prompting Mamata Banerjee to consider reducing Abhishek Banerjee’s influence to pacify the party.
With TMC holding 28 MPs in the Lok Sabha, the dissident camp believes it has the numbers needed to avoid disqualification under anti-defection provisions. The MPs have not announced any immediate plan to quit TMC or join the BJP, but said they would function as a separate group in Parliament while supporting the NDA—an announcement that comes even as Mamata Banerjee attended an INDIA bloc meeting in Delhi to rally opposition unity against the BJP.
