Updated on: Jun 16, 2026 1:18:12 PM IST
TMC LIVE updates: Former CM of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee departs from the residence of AICC Chairperson Sonia Gandhi after meeting, in Delhi, earlier this month.
TMC LIVE updates: Mamata Banerjee, Trinamool Congress (TMC) founder and former West Bengal chief minister, is at crossroads in her struggle to keep the party intact with her as the commander in chief with MPs and MLAs breaking rank to head the party in their own terms after the crushing defeat in the recently concluded assembly elections.
First MLA Ritabrata Banerjee staked claim as the Leader of Opposition in the state assembly with the support of 58 lawmakers earlier this month, then a Member of Parliament (MP), Kakoli Ghosh, openly expressed the wish for splitting away with the support of 19 rebel MPs and support the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
The faction of 20 rebel MPs, which feature heavy-weights like Jadavpur MP Saayoni Ghosh, on Sunday moved to further solidify their support to the NDA by writing a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla that said the group had merged with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India or NCPI, which was formed in 2022 and fought its last election in 2023.
TMC crisis | Key points
-Team Mamata invited by LS Speaker: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will take a decision in the matter of TMC’s rebel MPs only after hearing both sides, sources reportedly said. The Speaker’s office has also emailed the group of TMC MPs led by Mamata Banerjee, ANI news agency reported, citing sources. These MPs have been called for a meeting with Lok Sabha Speaker. Only after the meeting will the Speaker take any decision related to the rebel faction, the sources said.
-Rebels’ merger with NCPI: The 20 rebel lawmakers of the TMC on Sunday told speaker Om Birla that they have merged with a little-known Tripura-based party, strengthening the National Democratic Alliance and setting the stage for one of the biggest defections in India’s parliamentary history, HT reported earlier. “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,” the report uoted rebel MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar as saying after the meeting with Birla.
–What is NCPI: The Nationalist Citizens Party of India or NCPI, which was formed in 2022 and fought its last election in 2023. The party currently doesn’t have a lawmaker anywhere in the country. According to a Lok Sabha functionary, Birla will now verify the signatures of 20 MPs before approving the merger.
-Split objected by Mamata and team: The meeting of the rebels with Birla came hours after lawmakers Sagarika Ghose and Kirti Azad, both loyalists of party chief Mamata Banerjee, met Birla and handed over a letter from the TMC’s Lok Sabha floor leader Abhishek Banerjee. The letter said that “split is no longer available under the Tenth Schedule” and TMC is “a single, indivisible political party”.
-Who are the rebel MPs: Former TMC Lok Sabha floor leader Sudip Bandopadhyay, former party chief whip and a key rebel face Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, deputy leader Shatabdi Ray, popular filmstars Deepak Adhikari, Saayoni Ghosh and June Maliah were among the 20 rebels. Arup Chakraborty, Partha Bhowmik, cricketer Yusuf Pathan, Sharmila Sarkar, Mala Ray, former Indian football captain Prasun Banerjee, Asit Mal, Khalilur Rehman, Abu Taher Khan, Jagadish Basunia, Kalipada Soren, Mitali Bag, Bapi Haldar and Khalilur Rehman were also present in the meeting.
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First MLA Ritabrata Banerjee staked claim as the Leader of Opposition in the state assembly with the support of 58 lawmakers earlier this month, then a Member of Parliament (MP), Kakoli Ghosh, openly expressed the wish for splitting away with the support of 19 rebel MPs and support the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
The faction of 20 rebel MPs, which feature heavy-weights like Jadavpur MP Saayoni Ghosh, on Sunday moved to further solidify their support to the NDA by writing a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla that said the group had merged with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India or NCPI, which was formed in 2022 and fought its last election in 2023.
TMC crisis | Key points
-Team Mamata invited by LS Speaker: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will take a decision in the matter of TMC’s rebel MPs only after hearing both sides, sources reportedly said. The Speaker’s office has also emailed the group of TMC MPs led by Mamata Banerjee, ANI news agency reported, citing sources. These MPs have been called for a meeting with Lok Sabha Speaker. Only after the meeting will the Speaker take any decision related to the rebel faction, the sources said.
-Rebels’ merger with NCPI: The 20 rebel lawmakers of the TMC on Sunday told speaker Om Birla that they have merged with a little-known Tripura-based party, strengthening the National Democratic Alliance and setting the stage for one of the biggest defections in India’s parliamentary history, HT reported earlier. “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,” the report uoted rebel MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar as saying after the meeting with Birla.
–What is NCPI: The Nationalist Citizens Party of India or NCPI, which was formed in 2022 and fought its last election in 2023. The party currently doesn’t have a lawmaker anywhere in the country. According to a Lok Sabha functionary, Birla will now verify the signatures of 20 MPs before approving the merger.
-Split objected by Mamata and team: The meeting of the rebels with Birla came hours after lawmakers Sagarika Ghose and Kirti Azad, both loyalists of party chief Mamata Banerjee, met Birla and handed over a letter from the TMC’s Lok Sabha floor leader Abhishek Banerjee. The letter said that “split is no longer available under the Tenth Schedule” and TMC is “a single, indivisible political party”.
-Who are the rebel MPs: Former TMC Lok Sabha floor leader Sudip Bandopadhyay, former party chief whip and a key rebel face Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, deputy leader Shatabdi Ray, popular filmstars Deepak Adhikari, Saayoni Ghosh and June Maliah were among the 20 rebels. Arup Chakraborty, Partha Bhowmik, cricketer Yusuf Pathan, Sharmila Sarkar, Mala Ray, former Indian football captain Prasun Banerjee, Asit Mal, Khalilur Rehman, Abu Taher Khan, Jagadish Basunia, Kalipada Soren, Mitali Bag, Bapi Haldar and Khalilur Rehman were also present in the meeting.
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Jun 16, 2026 1:18:11 PM IST
TMC news LIVE updates: How will TMC-NCPI merger affect NDA’s numbers in Lok Sabha
TMC news LIVE updates: The proposed NCPI-TMC (rebel faction) merger, if approved, will increase the BJP-led NDA’s strength from 294 to 314 in the Lok Sabha, still short of 46 seats to secure a two-thirds majority in the Lower House. In the Upper House, the ruling dispensation can reach 155 seats, just right seats short of the two-third majority.
A BJP MP, who was involved in discussions related to the developments, told HT the NCPI is an unrecognised party, which fought polls in West Bengal, Tripura and Meghalaya.
“The decision to merge with NCPI was taken to retain the rebels’ connection with West Bengal, but also give the Northeast a better representation in the Lok Sabha,” said the BJP MP.
In a meeting with Birla on Sunday evening, 19 TMC lawmakers handed over a letter expressing their wish to join the NCPI. Rachana Banerjee, a first-time MP currently in Malaysia, gave her consent in the letter, making it a 20 lawmakers group.
Jun 16, 2026 1:12:41 PM IST
TMC LIVE updates: Rebellion by MLAs, split by MPs | TMC crisis explained in 5 points
TMC LIVE updates: Mamata Banerjee, Trinamool Congress (TMC) founder and former West Bengal chief minister, has been at the receiving end of back-to-back blows since the crushing defeat in the recently concluded assembly elections to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
First MLA Ritabrata Banerjee staked claim as the Leader of Opposition in the state assembly with the support of 58 lawmakers earlier this month, then a Member of Parliament (MP), Kakoli Ghosh, openly expressed the wish for splitting away with the support of 19 rebel MPs and support the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
5 points explaining the TMC crisis
1 – The identity crisis for the TMC started after the TMC lost the assembly polls last month to the BJP, which formed its first-ever government in the eastern state. Weeks after the poll results, 59 MLAs formed a breakaway faction with Ritabrata Banerjee as the Leader of the Opposition in the assembly.
2 – Days post the MLA faction breaking rank, key TMC MP Kakoli Ghosh stepped down from all party posts and voiced her dissent after she was dropped from the chief whip’s post.
3 – On June 8, couple of TMC MPs, including Kakoli Ghosh, met at the house of Union minister and BJP observer for Bengal polls Bhupender Yadav for two hours. In the evening, the group again met at the residence of four-time Birbhum MP Shatabdi Roy, HT reported earlier. CM and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari was present at both meetings of rebel TMC MPs, the HT report quoted functionaries aware of developments as saying.
4 – Kakoli Ghosh offered support to the NDA after that meeting, saying she has the backing of 19 MPs — a number required to evade the anti-defection law and consequent loss of membership from the House due to the same.
5 – On Sunday, the faction of 20 rebel MPs, which feature heavy-weights like Jadavpur MP Saayoni Ghosh, on Sunday moved to further solidify their support to the NDA by writing a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla that said the group had merged with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India or NCPI, which was formed in 2022 and fought its last election in 2023. The Speaker is yet to take call on accepting the merger.
Jun 16, 2026 12:54:16 PM IST
TMC LIVE updates: What to know about TMC MPs rebellion
TMC LIVE updates: At least 20 rebel lawmakers of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Sunday told speaker Om Birla that they have merged with a little-known Tripura-based party, strengthening the National Democratic Alliance and setting the stage for one of the biggest defections in India’s parliamentary history.
At least 20 lawmakers of the TMC met Birla on Sunday and submitted a letter that said the rebel group had merged with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India or NCPI, which was formed in 2022 and fought its last election in 2023.
The party currently doesn’t have a lawmaker anywhere in the country. According to a Lok Sabha functionary, Birla will now verify the signatures of 20 MPs before approving the 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,” said rebel MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, who resigned from party posts late last momth, after the meeting with Birla.
The meeting of the rebels with Birla came hours after lawmakers Sagarika Ghose and Kirti Azad, both loyalists of party chief Mamata Banerjee, met Birla and handed over a letter from the TMC’s Lok Sabha floor leader Abhishek Banerjee. The letter said that “split is no longer available under the Tenth Schedule” and TMC is “a single, indivisible political party”. Read full HT report here
Jun 16, 2026 12:48:28 PM IST
TMC LIVE updates: Mamata at crossroads in struggle to keep party in her control
TMC LIVE updates: Mamata Banerjee, Trinamool Congress (TMC) founder and former West Bengal chief minister, is at crossroads in her struggle to keep the party intact with her as the commander in chief with MPs and MLAs breaking rank to head the party in their own terms after the crushing defeat in the recently concluded assembly elections.
First MLA Ritabrata Banerjee staked claim as the Leader of Opposition in the state assembly with the support of 58 lawmakers earlier this month, then a Member of Parliament (MP), Kakoli Ghosh, openly expressed the wish for splitting away with the support of 19 rebel MPs and support the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
The faction of 20 rebel MPs, which feature heavy-weights like Jadavpur MP Saayoni Ghosh, on Sunday moved to further solidify their support to the NDA by writing a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla that said the group had merged with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India or NCPI, which was formed in 2022 and fought its last election in 2023.
