TMC crisis live updates: TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee arrives for the India Bloc meeting in New Delhi on Monday, June 8, 2026.
TMC crisis live updates: The Trinamool Congress (TMC) was thrown into crisis on Sunday when at least 20 of its Lok Sabha MPs informed Speaker Om Birla that they have merged with the Tripura-based Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), a move that could significantly alter the party’s parliamentary strength and strengthen the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
The group of rebel MPs met Birla and submitted a letter stating that they have merged with the NCPI, a party formed in 2022 which last contested elections in 2023. The party currently has no elected representatives in any legislature across the country.
According to a Lok Sabha official, the Speaker will verify the signatures of 20 MPs before taking a decision on recognizing the merger.
TMC rebels announce merger with little-known NCPI
After meeting the Speaker, rebel MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar said that the MLAs have decided to join the NDA through merger.
“We, 20 MPs, have now merged with the Nationalist Citizens Party and will work with the NDA under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah,” Dastidar said.
The delegation that approached Birla included 19 MPs who had submitted a formal letter expressing their desire to join the NCPI. First-time MP Rachna Banerjee, who is currently in Malaysia, expressed her consent through the same communication, taking the strength of the group to 20.
Abhishek Banerjee challenged
Hours before the rebels were to meet the Speaker, TMC loyalists Sagarika Ghosh and Kirti Azad had approached Birla with a letter from the party’s Lok Sabha floor leader Abhishek Banerjee.
In the letter, Abhishek argued that divisions within a political party cannot be recognized under the existing anti-defection framework and insisted that TMC remains a single political entity.
He wrote, “My attention has been drawn to news reports to the effect that some members of the Lok Sabha belonging to the AITC have submitted, or propose to submit, a letter to your office seeking recognition as a separate group or faction of the AITC, independent of the legislature party.”
Citing the Supreme Court judgment in the Maharashtra political crisis case, Abhishek said “splitting” is no longer available under the Tenth Schedule.
The letter said, “The AITC is a single, indivisible political party… There is only one AITC in law, a leader of the party in the House and a whip, all of whom hold office by authority of the political party and its competent organizational authority. No member or group of members can, of his own volition, form a parallel “group” or “faction” of the same party and claim independent recognition within the House.”
Why was NCPI chosen?
A BJP MP participating in the discussion said that NCPI had contested elections in West Bengal, Tripura and Meghalaya despite being unrecognized.
According to the BJP leader, the party’s choice was strategic.
“The decision to merge with the NCPI was taken not only to maintain the rebels’ ties with West Bengal but also to give the Northeast better representation in the Lok Sabha,” the MP said.
What effect does this have on NDA figures?
If the merger gets the Speaker’s approval, the NDA’s strength in the Lok Sabha will increase from 294 to 314. Still, the alliance will fall 46 seats short of the two-thirds majority mark in the lower house.
In the Rajya Sabha, the ruling coalition’s strength could reach 155 seats, leaving it just short of the two-thirds threshold.
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The group of rebel MPs met Birla and submitted a letter stating that they have merged with the NCPI, a party formed in 2022 which last contested elections in 2023. The party currently has no elected representatives in any legislature across the country.
According to a Lok Sabha official, the Speaker will verify the signatures of 20 MPs before taking a decision on recognizing the merger.
TMC rebels announce merger with little-known NCPI
After meeting the Speaker, rebel MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar said that the MLAs have decided to join the NDA through merger.
“We, 20 MPs, have now merged with the Nationalist Citizens Party and will work with the NDA under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah,” Dastidar said.
The delegation that approached Birla included 19 MPs who had submitted a formal letter expressing their desire to join the NCPI. First-time MP Rachna Banerjee, who is currently in Malaysia, expressed her consent through the same communication, taking the strength of the group to 20.
Abhishek Banerjee challenged
Hours before the rebels were to meet the Speaker, TMC loyalists Sagarika Ghosh and Kirti Azad had approached Birla with a letter from the party’s Lok Sabha floor leader Abhishek Banerjee.
In the letter, Abhishek argued that divisions within a political party cannot be recognized under the existing anti-defection framework and insisted that TMC remains a single political entity.
He wrote, “My attention has been drawn to news reports to the effect that some members of the Lok Sabha belonging to the AITC have submitted, or propose to submit, a letter to your office seeking recognition as a separate group or faction of the AITC, independent of the legislature party.”
Citing the Supreme Court judgment in the Maharashtra political crisis case, Abhishek said “splitting” is no longer available under the Tenth Schedule.
The letter said, “The AITC is a single, indivisible political party… There is only one AITC in law, a leader of the party in the House and a whip, all of whom hold office by authority of the political party and its competent organizational authority. No member or group of members can, of his own volition, form a parallel “group” or “faction” of the same party and claim independent recognition within the House.”
Why was NCPI chosen?
A BJP MP participating in the discussion said that NCPI had contested elections in West Bengal, Tripura and Meghalaya despite being unrecognized.
According to the BJP leader, the party’s choice was strategic.
“The decision to merge with the NCPI was taken not only to maintain the rebels’ ties with West Bengal but also to give the Northeast better representation in the Lok Sabha,” the MP said.
What effect does this have on NDA figures?
If the merger gets the Speaker’s approval, the NDA’s strength in the Lok Sabha will increase from 294 to 314. Still, the alliance will fall 46 seats short of the two-thirds majority mark in the lower house.
In the Rajya Sabha, the ruling coalition’s strength could reach 155 seats, leaving it just short of the two-thirds threshold.
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June 15, 2026 10:32:44 am First
TMC crisis live updates: Want to end bloodshed, says rebel MP Arup Chakraborty
TMC crisis live updates: Defending the decision of rebel TMC MPs to merge with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), MP Arup Chakraborty said the move is aimed at ending political violence and promoting cooperation between the Center and the state.
“50 years have passed, still the people of India or the state have not got anything. One side says Delhi does not give funds. The other says the state does not give. Now, a new approach has started. Both the governments are working together,” Chakraborty said, as reported by news agency ANI.
He said, “We want to end the bloodshed. Engage in politics freely… That cycle of violence, killing during one term, then retaliating by the other side in the next, cannot go on.”
June 15, 2026 10:28:46 am First
TMC crisis live updates: ‘NCPI path offered practical parliamentary solution’
TMC crisis live updates: The rebel TMC faction’s decision to merge with the little-known Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) was motivated by legal and procedural considerations, news agency PTI reported citing sources familiar with the move.
PTI sources said the rebels had initially planned to break away from the TMC parliamentary party, form a separate group in Parliament and extend support to the BJP-led NDA. However, parliamentary rules leave little scope for such an arrangement.
He said the NCPI route provides a way to move forward collectively while avoiding procedural hurdles.
A senior rebel MP said the decision was based on “practical considerations rather than ideology”.
“We wanted to move forward collectively and create a political space outside Mamata Banerjee’s control without creating unnecessary procedural hurdles. The NCPI route offered a practical parliamentary solution,” the report said.
June 15, 2026 10:24:29 am First
TMC crisis live updates: ‘Who knows NCPI?’ Saugata Roy attacked the merger move of rebel MPs
TMC crisis live updates: TMC leader Saugata Roy criticized the proposed merger of 20 rebel MPs with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), calling the move “ridiculous” and accusing the dissidents of trying to appease the BJP.
“Once you betray the party on whose symbol you were elected, how will you face your constituents? This merger is ridiculous. Who knows the NCPI? Can they go to their constituencies and tell people that they are now part of the NCPI? This merger shows the desperation of traitors to please their BJP masters,” Roy told news agency PTI.
Accusing the BJP of supporting the move, Roy said the rebels chose the NCPI path as parliamentary rules do not allow recognition of a separate faction within an existing party.
“That’s why they took this path with the direct support of the BJP. This is ridiculous. The public’s support will be with the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC, not with the traitors,” he said.
June 15, 2026 10:17:53 am First
TMC crisis live updates: Why did the rebels choose NCPI? Here’s what we know
TMC crisis live updates: Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), the party singled out for the proposed merger by 20 rebel TMC MPs, is a relatively little-known organization formed in 2022.
The party last contested elections in 2023 and currently has no elected representatives in any legislature across the country.
According to a BJP MP involved in discussions with the rebel camp, the NCPI has contested elections in West Bengal, Tripura and Meghalaya. The leader said the party was chosen to help the rebels maintain their political ties with West Bengal as well as give greater representation to the Northeast in the Lok Sabha.
If Speaker Om Birla approves the merger, the NCPI will go from having no MP in Parliament to the biggest defections in the history of the Lok Sabha.
June 15, 2026 10:13:37 am First
TMC crisis live updates: What did Abhishek Banerjee say in the letter to Speaker Om Birla?
TMC crisis live updates: Ahead of rebel MPs’ meeting with Speaker Om Birla, TMC Lok Sabha floor leader Abhishek Banerjee wrote to the Speaker arguing that the split within the party cannot be recognized under the anti-defection law.
Citing the Supreme Court judgment in the Maharashtra political crisis case, Abhishek said “splitting” is no longer available under the Tenth Schedule.
“The AITC is a single, indivisible political party… In law there is only one AITC, a leader of the party in the House and a whip, all of whom hold office by authority of the political party and its competent organizational authority. No member or group of members can, of its own volition, form a parallel “group” or “faction” of the same party and claim independent recognition within the House,” he wrote.
June 15, 2026 10:04:45 am First
TMC crisis live updates: ‘Disqualify him!’ Sibal on efforts to merge rebel TMC MPs
TMC crisis live updates: Senior lawyer and independent MP Kapil Sibal said the 20 rebel TMC MPs demanding merger with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) should be “disqualified”.
“TMC rebels: Will merge with Nationalist Citizens Party (NCP) Indian democracy ‘theater of the absurd’ has become a joke! TMC legislature party rebels cannot merge with any political party; this can happen only if TMC wants to do so! Disqualify them!” He posted on X.
Under the Tenth Schedule, disqualification does not apply if the parent political party merges with another party and at least two-thirds of the members of the legislative party support the merger.
