Massive blow to Mamata: 20 TMC MPs to form new bloc, support NDA

Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee's political troubles deepened on Monday as a group of rebel party MPs claimed they were breaking ranks and seeking to align with the NDA, India Today reported on Monday.

TMC MP Kakali Ghosh Dastidar claimed that nearly 20 party MPs, including herself, have decided to write to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla expressing their desire to align with the NDA.

"As of now, I remain the Chief Whip of the TMC in the Lok Sabha, and in that capacity I have held discussions with colleagues before arriving at this decision," she said.

News agency PTI reported that 20 Lok Sabha MPs, led by Chief Whip Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, wrote to Speaker Om Birla declaring support for the BJP-led NDA, triggering a split in the party's parliamentary unit.

This comes barely days after the TMC leadership suffered a setback in the West Bengal Assembly, where 58 of its 80 MLAs defied the party high command's decision to appoint veteran leader Sovandeb Chattopadhyay as the Leader of the Opposition, and elected expelled MLA Ritabrata Banerjee to that post.

Sharmila Sarkar, another TMC MP, said that the rebel MPs remained with the Trinamool Congress, "but have formed a separate bloc within the party."

"The number is 20 at present, but more MPs may join us in the coming days," the leader said in an exclusive interview with India Today.

In another interview, Sarkar said: "We are forming a different bloc of 20 MPs and going to give support to the NDA. Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar is our chief whip, and Shatabdi Roy is our deputy leader." 

If the claim holds, it would amount to a major setback for Banerjee.

The Trinamool Congress currently has 28 MPs in the Lok Sabha.

Dastidar, who has been at odds with the party leadership after being removed from the post of chief whip, said the rebel MPs believed the electoral verdict in West Bengal required a political realignment. Going by the people's mandate, they believe that their "future political course should be aligned with the NDA", she said.

She also challenged the party leadership's move to replace her and called her removal "arbitrary" and "unilateral". She said the party chairperson "may have announced my replacement from the post, but that does not alter the constitutional and parliamentary position overnight".

However, TMC MP Kirti Azad dismissed the rebel camp's claims of widespread support, alleging that the group has secured only 13 signatures from party MPs so far.