Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, June 15: An unknown regional political party, which could not win any seat even in the panchayat election, has overnight become the largest parliamentary force in West Bengal as the rebel Trinamool Congress members of the Lok Sabha have decided to “merge” with the Nationalist Citizens’ Party of India (NCPI), a party registered in Howrah. Differences, however, continue to persist within the NCPI whether they would accept the rebel TMC members within the fold though in a twist of event on Monday its president claimed that the party had “approved” the “merger” and has emerged as the biggest parliamentary party in the state with 20 MPs in its fold, while its secretary claimed ignorance over any such move.
The NCPI shot to national limelight on Sunday after a rebel MP declared they would merge with the little-known political outfit from Bengal that had made its electoral debut in Tripura. The decision by the rebel Trinamool MPs to merge with a registered regional political party and not form a separate bloc within the Trinamool Congress was only to avoid any legal complications under the anti-defection law. The law states that where two-thirds of the legislators of a political party decide to “merge” into another party, neither the members who decide to join nor the ones who stay with the original party will face disqualification.
However, Shantanu Dey, NCPI’s general secretary, said the decision was taken without consulting him and other leaders and that others in the party had opposed such a merger. Dey also accused Uttiya Kundu, a Howrah resident who claims himself to be the current president after the resignation of the founder president Shewli Kundu, his wife, of taking money to allow the Trinamool rebels to join their party. “The party’s president wants to align with them, but I do not support this move,” he had said on Sunday.
Ms Kundu, an advocate, refuted Dey’s claim that he was a founding member of the NCPI, stating that he has neither been the party’s general secretary nor a member since 2023. She, however, refused to comment on the Trinamool rebels’ merger. “I was the founder president of this party. I have resigned from the post. The new president can give details. In Tripura, we were with the NDA. But I resigned as the president since I could not devote much time due to my practice,” she said.
The NCPI has emerged as a key player amid the Trinamool crisis, garnering national attention despite lacking any state-level focus. The party was registered with the Election Commission as a Registered Unrecognised Political Party (RUPP) in 2023, weeks before the Tripura assembly elections. Despite being registered in Bengal, the party made its electoral debut in Tripura. However, it failed to make any impact. It received total donations of just Rs 1.13 lakh, as per EC records.
Any merger of the rebels with the NCPI would deal a fresh jolt to the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool, which had been struggling to prevent defections since its defeat in the April-May elections. At least 20 rebel MPs have so far voiced their dissatisfaction with the Trinamool, with parliamentarian Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar indicating the number could go up.
The NCPI in a social media post claimed to be the largest parliamentary force in West Bengal. “With 20 Lok Sabha seats, NCPI emerges as the largest parliamentary force from West Bengal shaping the state’s voice at the national level. The numbers speak for themselves…” a Facebook post by the NCPI claimed. According to the post, the number of MPs with NCPI are 20, while the BJP has 12, Trinamool Congress has eight and the Congress has one in the Lok Sabha. The party also posted photographs of rebel Trinamool MPs with the symbol of the party.
20 rebel MPs of the Trinamool Congress have announced their decision to merge with NCPI. The MPs met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla in Delhi on Sunday and submitted a letter to that effect.
According to the information given on the Facebook page of NCPI, the head office of this political party is located in Hatgachha village under Sankrail police station area of Howrah. The Facebook page was created in the early hours of Monday. The party is being administered by a couple Uttiyo Kundu and his wife Shewli Kundu. The green and saffron party office in rural Howrah saw the deployment of police and central forces outside the office on Monday.
According to locals Shewli Kundu, who hails from Hatgachha village runs a voluntary organisation with her husband Uttiyo Kundu. Locals said NCPI has had an office in Hatgachha since 2022 and fielded candidates in the panchayat elections in 2023. However, the party did not field any candidates in the Lok Sabha polls in 2024 and 2026 Assembly elections.
A few functionaries who were associated in the past said they were completely in the dark as far as developments of merging of Trinamool Congress MP was concerned. “Uttiyo Kundu and Shewli Kundu are in Delhi. Their phones have been switched off since last night. We have learnt that they are in Delhi. Nobody else in the party has any idea about the development. We started as a small party. Our organisation was never in touch with BJP. But, it seems some people, as individuals, were in regular touch with BJP,” Titas Bhattacharya, who claimed to be the general secretary of the party, said.
The NCPI registered itself on February 2, 2023 at Jago Biswa building at Sankrail in West Bengal’s Howrah, as Election Commission of India’s (ECI) data suggests. They were also allotted the symbol of a fountain pen by the ECI. Three NCPI candidates had contested assembly elections in Tripura and together secured 822 votes.
Trinamool Congress MLA Kunal Ghosh, who is considered a loyalist to Mamata Banerjee, said the rebels were not welcome in the party that engineered their defection and sent them to little known third party.
The lesser-known political party fielded three candidates in the 2023 Tripura assembly elections and had the slogan “Reject political turncoats to save your rights.” Records indicate that the NCPI contested in three seats: Chawamanu, Ambassa, and Kailashahar. Its candidates finished either behind NOTA or secured only a few more votes. NCPI’s registered address is in Howrah’s Sankrail and its president is Shewli Kundu, who identifies as an advocate practising in the Calcutta High Court.
Prominent TMC rebels, such as Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, have also voiced their intent to work with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the NDA in the national interest. The senior most rebel MP, Sudip Bandyopadhyay, indicated plans to seek recognition as TMC once the Parliament sessions resume, claiming a two-thirds majority. The merger comes in the wake of TMC’s electoral challenges.
Senior TMC MP Saugata Roy ridiculed the rebels’ decision to merge with the NCPI questioning both its political relevance and the dissidents’ ability to justify the move before voters. “Once you betray the party on whose symbol you were elected, how will you face your constituents? This merger is ridiculous. Who knows NCPI? Can they go to their constituencies and tell people that they are now part of NCPI? This merger reflects the desperation of the traitors to please their BJP masters,” Mr Roy said.
Alleging that the move had the tacit backing of the BJP, Mr Roy said the dissident MPs had chosen the NCPI route only because Parliamentary rules do not permit the recognition of a separate bloc within an existing party. “That is why they took this route with direct support from the BJP. This is ridiculous. The public support will remain with the TMC led by Mamata Banerjee and not with the traitors,” he said.
The Mamata Banerjee-led faction has challenged the rebels’ claim before the Speaker, arguing that the Constitution and the anti-defection law do not permit recognition of a separate faction within a political party. The BJP, however, sought to turn the spotlight back on the TMC leadership, saying the mass defection reflected growing disenchantment within the ruling party.
BJP State spokesperson Sayantan Basu said the development was an internal matter of the TMC and that the party leadership should introspect instead of blaming others. “If they join the NCPI and support the NDA and government Bills, it is good for the country. The fact is that no one wants to remain in the TMC. Its leadership should do serious introspection instead of blaming others,” he said.
