Kolkata: As many as 17 out of 20 Trinamool Congress-turned-Nationalist Citizens’ Party of India (NCPI) Lok Sabha members from West Bengal will directly join the BJP next month, claimed one of the prominent members in the NCPI MPs’ camp and the Lok Sabha member from Cooch Behar constituency, Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia on Monday.
However, he added, three Lok Sabha members in this camp, namely Abu Taher Khan from Murshidabad Constituency, Yusuf Pathan from Baharampur Constituency and Khalilur Rahman from Jangipur Constituency, all in minority-dominated Murshidabad district of West Bengal, don’t want to directly join the BJP.
“However, despite not joining the BJP directly, the three MPs from Murshidabad district will continue to be part of the National Democratic Alliance. The remaining 17 of us will be joining the BJP directly next month before the forthcoming Durga Puja,” said Basunia on Monday.
He also explained the practical problems for the three Muslim Lok Sabha members in directly joining the BJP.
“They are elected representatives from minority-dominated constituencies. So naturally, there are some problems for them in directly joining the BJP. But they will continue to be with the NDA. The remaining 17 of us will join the BJP from the NCPI. The required number was 14 for two-third of the total MPs. But we have three more. So, we will not come under the anti-defection law. Our joining will happen before or just after the Durga Puja,” Basunia said.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Trinamool Congress ended the tally winning 28 out of 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal. However, after the 2026 West Bengal Assembly polls, which marked a landslide defeat for Trinamool Congress, these 20 Trinamool Congress MPs joined the virtually non-existent NCPI and also became a part of the NDA.
These 20 Trinamool-turned-NCPI MPs members had already requested the Lok Sabha Speaker, Om Birla, to recognise them as NCPI Lok Sabha members. But that recognition has not been received yet. According to Lok Sabha records, they are still Trinamool Congress MPs.
In such a situation, the claims made by Basunia on Monday have kept the political pot boiling in the corridors of power in West Bengal.
(IANS)
