Questions regarding the official political identity of rebel Trinamool Congress MPs have surfaced once again as key figures including Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, and Shatabdi Roy attended the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) parliamentary meeting in New Delhi today. Despite breaking away from the ruling party in Bengal to align with the NDA under the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) banner, they continue to be officially recognized as TMC parliamentarians.

Breakaway Faction Joins NDA, Approval Remains Stalled

The political shift began shortly after the election results, which saw significant internal friction within the Trinamool Congress. Following a series of high-level meetings with senior BJP leader Bhupender Yadav, a group of 20 dissident TMC MPs led by Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar announced their decision to split from the TMC and merge into the NCPI, joining the ruling NDA bloc.

However, over a month after submitting a formal petition, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla is yet to grant official recognition to the NCPI as a distinct parliamentary party. With the matter still pending and a week already passed in the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament, official Lok Sabha records continue to list these parliamentarians as TMC members. Consequently, their participation in today’s NDA meeting occurred strictly under their original TMC affiliation.

Opposition Backlash and Meeting Re-invitations

This development follows earlier political controversy. Prior to the commencement of the Monsoon Session, these rebel MPs were invited to an all-party meeting, triggering intense backlash from the Opposition. Protesting how an unrecognized faction could receive such invitations, opposition leaders staged a symbolic walkout. Subsequently, the rebel MPs were excluded from last week’s NDA parliamentary meeting before being re-invited for today’s session.

The unresolved status of the breakaway group has sparked further speculation within West Bengal’s political circles. Analysts are now questioning whether the NCPI faction will eventually merge directly into the Bharatiya Janata Party .

Fueling these rumors, Leader of the Opposition in the Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, held a private meeting with Sudip Bandyopadhyay at Nabanna on Monday. The meeting took place after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee cancelled her scheduled visit to Delhi to meet the dissident MPs due to prior commitments. The Adhikari-Bandyopadhyay dialogue has intensified chatter about whether the rebel MPs’ formal transition into the BJP is now merely a matter of time.

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