Agartala, June 15, 2026: A major political realignment appears to be underway in Parliament after a group of rebel Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs formally approached Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Sunday, claiming they have merged with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), a relatively new outfit formed in 2022 that last contested elections in 2023.

According to sources, 19 MPs met the Speaker in person and submitted a letter expressing their intent to join the NCPI, while first-time MP Rachana Banerjee, currently abroad, extended her consent separately—taking the total strength of the breakaway group to 20. The Speaker is expected to verify the authenticity of the signatures before taking a final decision on recognising the merger.

Speaking after the meeting, rebel leader Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar said the group would align with the NDA leadership under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. The move, if cleared, could significantly boost the NDA’s numbers in the Lok Sabha, though it would still fall short of the two-thirds majority mark.

The development comes amid a sharp counter-move by the TMC leadership. Earlier the same day, party loyalists Sagarika Ghose and Kirti Azad met the Speaker with a letter from Lok Sabha floor leader Abhishek Banerjee, asserting that the party remains unified and indivisible. The letter stressed that the provision for a “split” no longer exists under the Tenth Schedule, citing recent Supreme Court observations.

A senior BJP MP familiar with the developments said the choice of NCPI as the merger platform was strategic, aimed at maintaining the rebels’ political relevance in West Bengal while also strengthening representation from the Northeast.

The rebellion follows the TMC’s recent electoral setback, which triggered internal dissent both in Parliament and in the West Bengal Assembly. The fallout could sharply reduce the TMC’s strength in the Lok Sabha to single digits, weakening not only the party but also the broader INDIA bloc’s ability to challenge the ruling BJP.

Several prominent faces are part of the rebel camp, including Sudip Bandopadhyay, Shatabdi Ray, Deepak Adhikari, Saayoni Ghosh, June Maliah, and former cricketer Yusuf Pathan, among others.

Legal experts, however, remain divided. Independent MP Kapil Sibal argued that such a merger may not hold constitutional ground unless the original party itself merges, suggesting the rebels could face disqualification. The TMC has also indicated it may seek judicial intervention.

As the Speaker examines the claims, the episode has added a new layer of uncertainty to parliamentary arithmetic and intensified the ongoing churn within opposition ranks.