Key facts
- The Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) gained national attention after 20 TMC Lok Sabha MPs merged with it.
- The NCPI, a registered unrecognised political party established in 2023, had minimal cash reserves of Rs 75 in FY 2022-23.
- The merger aims to bypass anti-defection laws, with the rebel group claiming to meet the two-thirds threshold.
- Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will decide on the status of the rebel MPs after hearing both TMC factions.
- The TMC leadership has called the merger misleading and undemocratic.
The Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), a previously obscure political entity, has unexpectedly found itself in the national spotlight following the merger of 20 Lok Sabha Members of Parliament (MPs) from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) into its ranks. This development positions the NCPI, which had minimal financial resources with only Rs 75 cash in FY 2022-23, as a potential ally for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
NCPI officials in Kolkata expressed surprise and stated they had no prior knowledge or information about the merger, with some learning about it through news and social media. Shantanu Dey, the founder and national organising secretary of the NCPI, welcomed the MPs, expressing happiness about the party's growth and indicating a willingness to hold talks.
The NCPI, registered in 2023 in Howrah's Sankrail, is now led by Kakoli Dastidar and must officially inform the Election Commission of India about these significant changes. The merger has shifted the focus to the small party, which was previously known for its presence in Bengal and focus on Tripura.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla is reviewing the status of the 20 rebel TMC MPs and will make a decision after hearing both factions. The Speaker's office has invited the TMC MPs led by Mamata Banerjee for a formal meeting. The Speaker is expected to take any decision regarding the rebel faction's request for a merger only after discussing the matter with the party's official leadership. This follows a formal split in the party's Lok Sabha contingent, where 20 dissident MPs met the Speaker and submitted a letter requesting the merger of their group with the NCPI.
TMC MP Kirti Azad dismissed the move as "misleading" and "undemocratic," asserting that the party remains firmly under Mamata Banerjee's leadership. Azad alleged that the rebel group is motivated by personal gain and is already riddled with internal conflict. The rebel faction, led by senior parliamentarian Sudip Bandyopadhyay, claims to have bypassed the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution by merging with the NCPI, asserting they have comfortably exceeded the two-thirds threshold required for a merger under the anti-defection law.