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Rebellion Brews in Trinamool Congress as MPs Shift Allegiance to NDA
In a significant political shift, nearly 20 Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs, led by Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, have expressed their intent to formally align with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Dastidar, still serving as the Chief Whip of TMC in the Lok Sabha, outlined the group's decision in a letter addressed to the Lok Sabha Speaker, stating it follows extensive consultations among her colleagues.
Dastidar’s removal from her chief whip position on May 20, replaced by Kalyan Banerjee, was termed “arbitrary and unilateral” by her. Despite this change, she maintains that her constitutional role remains unchanged. In her letter, she affirmed,
“We have accepted the people's verdict and believe that our future political course should be aligned with the NDA.”
The TMC's internal turmoil escalated as former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was in Delhi attending an INDIA bloc meeting while Dastidar's faction made their announcement. This rebellion is part of a larger discontent within the party, which has seen approximately two dozen of its 80 MLAs defect, supporting Ritabrata Banerjee as the new Leader of the Opposition in West Bengal's Assembly, a position Mamata had initially handed to veteran MLA Sovandeb Chattopadhyay.
The TMC's remaining loyalists wasted no time responding to the defection. Kirti Azad, a TMC MP, took to X to challenge Dastidar’s claims, stating,
“Her removal and appointment of Kalyan Banerjee as the chief whip was already informed to the honourable Speaker last month by our honourable chairperson Mamata Banerjee.”He further questioned the BJP's credibility, asking how long they could continue to mislead the public.
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