New Delhi: A significant political churn is unfolding in the Lok Sabha, where numbers from West Bengal have become central to a potential realignment of Parliamentary strength.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC), which originally secured 28 of the state’s 42 Lok Sabha seats, is now witnessing what party dissidents describe as a coordinated internal break, with a large section of its MPs reportedly aligning with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
With one seat currently vacant in Basirhat, the effective strength of TMC in the House stands at 27.
Against this backdrop, around 20 MPs are said to have indicated to distance themselves from the party’s organisational control and operate in alignment with the NDA as a distinct group in Parliament.
The development is being viewed through the lens of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, commonly referred to as the Anti-Defection Law.
Under its provisions, a split is recognised only when at least two-thirds of the Legislature Party supports the move.
In the current scenario, the threshold works out to 18.66 MPs, effectively meaning that 19 MPs would be required for a legally valid split without attracting disqualification.
With 20 MPs reportedly backing the move, the dissident bloc claims it has crossed the Constitutional benchmark. The number strengthens the bloc’s position against any potential disqualification challenge, say sources.
If formalised, this bloc would not directly merge with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) but rather it would be a separate Parliamentary group supporting the NDA’s legislative agenda.
It goes without saying that this shift would have immediate implications for the balance of power in the Lok Sabha, where the NDA currently holds 293 members in the 543-member House.
An additional 20-member support bloc would significantly ease the government’s position on key legislative proposals.
Among the contentious Bills expected to benefit from a strengthened numbers game are proposals related to Delimitation, the implementation of 33 per cent reservation for women in Legislatures, the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill concerning simultaneous elections, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, all of which are under varying stages of consideration.
Political observers note that if the reported alignment holds, it will represent one of the most consequential shifts in West Bengal’s Parliamentary representation in recent years.
It would also mark a major reconfiguration of Opposition strength at the national level, particularly in the context of the INDIA bloc’s cohesion.
(IANS)
