Rebel TMC MPs to join Tripura-based Nationalist Citizen Party of India, to support NDA Rebel TMC leader Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar said that two-thirds of TMC MPs have given letter to Lok Sabha Speaker for separate seating arrangement.
Updated on: Jun 15, 2026 7:07 AM ISTEdited by Sana Fazili Prefer HTon Google Share via Copy link Rebel lawmakers of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) are set to join Tripura-based Nationalist Citizen Party of India (NCPI) after days of unrest within the Mamata-led party.
Rebel TMC MPs with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla in New Delhi (Sourced) “We will merge with Nationalist Citizens Party and support the NDA,” rebel TMC leader Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar said, announcing the next political move of the rebel faction, adding that two-thirds of TMC MPs have given letter to Lok Sabha Speaker for separate seating arrangement.
Also read: 'Say no to British Janata Party': Posters, Prakash Raj take spotlight at CJP's Bengaluru protest Senior TMC leader and Lok Sabha MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay said the dissident camp had already merged with the Nationalist Citizens Party, which he described as a regional party.
The Nationalist Citizens Party is a lesser-known registered, unrecognised party from Tripura.
Asked about the competing claim of the Mamata Banerjee-led faction, Bandyopadhyay said the issue of who constitutes the "real TMC" would be decided by the courts, and added that they would claim the party's electoral symbol of two flowers.
"Court will decide later who is the real TMC.
We met the Speaker and gave him our request," he said.
TMC MPs, including Yusuf Pathan, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Sudip Bandyopadhyay, met Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla in Delhi on Sunday, amid reports of the rebelling MPs seeking recognition as ‘real TMC’ and staking claim on TMC symbol.
However, the speculations have now been put to rest as the rebelling MPs will be joining the NCPI.
Rebel TMC MPs with speaker Om Birla Mahua Moitra's sharp attack on Sudip Bandyopadhyay TMC MP Mahua Moitra took sharp jibes at senior party leader and Kolkata North MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay on Sunday, accusing him of misleading the party about his location before he was spotted at Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav's residence in New Delhi.
People familiar with the developments said Bandyopadhyay, along with dissident MP Satabdi Roy, met Yadav amid growing speculation that the rebel faction could approach Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday seeking recognition as a separate parliamentary group, HT had reported earlier.
In a post on X, Moitra alleged that Bandyopadhyay had told party leaders he had gone to a hospital in Kolkata due to a stomach problem.
She said he was later seen on television at the Union minister's residence in Delhi.
"His mask & his wig both come off - Sudip Bandyopadhyay told us he was in Apollo Kolkata with a tummy bug when we suddenly saw him on tv in Delhi in Bhupinder Yadav home.
Dada pls change your X handle to @SudipBJPBTeam at least.
Don't use our name," she wrote on X.
Crisis within the TMC The TMC has been embroiled in crisis following the poll debacle after the BJP made landslide victory in West Bengal Assembly elections held in April, ending TMC's 15 years of rule.
An internal rift soon jolted the party as several MPs and MLAs started showing signs of disgruntlement over party's national secretary and Mamata's nephew Abhijeet Banerjee's control over the party.
Abhijeet on Sunday wrote to speaker Birla saying that the TMC s a single, indivisable party.
The letter was handed to the Speaker by MPs Kirti Azad and Sagarika Ghose on Sunday, as Abhijeet hit out at the rebel camp's move to be recognised as a separate faction and said “no recognition of the nature" should be accorded.
“My attention has been drawn to news reports to the effect that certain members of the Lok Sabha belonging to the AITC have submitted, or propose to submit, a communication to your good office seeking to be recognised as a separate group or faction of the AITC, independent of the legislative party,” the letter read.
