NCPI ready to accept merger of rebel TMC MPs; numbers may go up to 22: Kakoli Dastidar

Rebel Trinamool Congress MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, said that the Nationalist Citizen Party of India (NCPI) has agreed to the participation of all opposition Lok Sabha members, whose party’s numbers are likely to increase to 22 from the current 20.

Ms. Dastidar also said the rebel MPs had no connection with the dissident TMC MLAs, who formed a separate group in the West Bengal Assembly recognized by Speaker Rathindra Bose.

When asked about the next move of the rebel TMC MPs, Bengal’s Barasat MP said they want to settle down first while trying to join another party.

“The acceptance has already come to us. [NCPI] They are happy to receive us. We will work with the NDA under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah,” Ms. Dastidar told reporters at the Parliament House complex.

When asked about the strength of his group, he said, “We are currently 20 deputies. This number may increase to 22.” A total of 28 MPs were elected to the Lok Sabha on TMC tickets in the 2024 general elections.

On relations with rebel TMC MPs in Bengal, Ms. Dastidar said the opposition MPs have no connection with the State Legislatures. “We have no connection with them. They are a separate group, their issues and agendas are different.”

Ms. Dastidar, who attended the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs meeting earlier in the day, said the previous TMC Government in West Bengal had not implemented the women’s safety plan in the state in the last 10 years.

“We were discussing that even child safety issues were not allowed in Bengal. Many other schemes like this were also not implemented during the previous (TMC) government,” he said.

The senior MP said that they want to implement all Central schemes in Bengal with the help of Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.

“Some schemes were not implemented in West Bengal. According to NCRB data, child marriages are highest in Bengal. This is also a crime. So, these were happening in Bengal, where none of them were concerned. So, we are trying to work for the well-being of the people of Bengal,” he said.

The crisis in the TMC deepened on Sunday, June 14, after opposition MPs announced their merger with the little-known NCPI and met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, who was seeking a separate seating arrangement in the House.

Speaking to reporters after his meeting with Birla, Dastidar said that 20 TMC MPs signed the petition presented to the speaker.

“Two-thirds of the TMK MPs sent a letter to the speaker for a separate seating arrangement in the Parliament. We will unite with the Nationalist Citizen Party and support the NDA,” he said.

NCPI registered itself as a political party in January 2023, with a building in Sankarail in West Bengal’s Howrah district as its address in Election Commission records.

The little-known group unexpectedly entered the national political discourse after rebel TMC MPs announced their merger with the party.