TMC's Future Uncertain After 20 Rebels Join NCPI, Speaker Om Birla To Hear Both Factions Soon Before Any Decision

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has started reviewing a major political crisis involving 20 rebel Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs who have decided to merge with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI). 

Lok Sabha Speaker to deliberate on merger

According to news agency ANI reports, citing sources, Birla intends to personally hear arguments from both sides, the rebel faction and the original TMC party led by former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee before delivering a final verdict under the anti-defection law. To initiate this process, the Speaker’s office has sent an official email to Banerjee’s faction, formally requesting their stance and legal views on the entire issue.

The development comes after 20 MPs from the TMC's rebel faction met the Speaker and submitted a letter, requesting a merger of their group with NCPI. Sources suggest that a decision on this matter will be taken before the Monsoon Session of Parliament. For this, Birla may also seek a written legal opinion from the Ministry of Law and Justice.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will take a decision in the matter of TMC's rebel MPs only after hearing both sides. The Speaker's office has also emailed the group of TMC MPs led by Mamata Banerjee. These MPs have been called for a meeting with Lok Sabha Speaker. Only after this, the… pic.twitter.com/MkXiZfcXFs

— ANI (@ANI) June 16, 2026

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What Does the Constitution Say? Experts Raise Questions

Meanwhile, legal and constitutional experts have begun questioning this move by the TMC rebels. Jagran.com quoted PDT Achary, a former Lok Sabha Secretary-General and constitutional expert, who cited the 10th Schedule of the Constitution (the anti-defection law), and explained that under the rules, only a political party can merge with another; individual MPs or MLAs cannot unilaterally merge a party on their own.

He added that if a party's central leadership decides on a merger, the MPs are bound to abide by it. On the other hand, a former Election Commission official described this move by the rebels as a unique experiment. He noted that neither the anti-defection law nor the Representation of the People Act (RPA) contains any provision for MPs to take over and merge a party in this manner.

However, some legal experts argue that under Paragraph 4 of the 10th of the Constitution, if at least two-thirds of a party's legislature wing agree to merge with another party, the merger is protected from disqualification.

Kakoli Ghosh Pledges Support To NDA

The matter escalated on Sunday when rebel MPs suddenly announced a merger with the NCPI. Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, who was elected president of the rebel faction, stated that two-thirds of the TMC MPs have written to the Speaker requesting separate seating arrangements. She said, “We are joining the Nationalist Citizens Party (NCPI) and will support the NDA government at the Centre.”

Also, the NCPI, the party the rebel MPs are relying on to save their parliamentary membership was registered in West Bengal's Howrah district in January 2023 and so far has no presence in national politics.

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