17 NCPI MPs to join BJP before Durga Puja: Rebel TMC leader's big claim
A rebel leader from the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) claims that 17 of its MPs plan to defect to the BJP before the Durga Puja festival. Other party members have denied or expressed ignorance regarding this alleged move, highlighting internal political instability.
Why it matters
This reflects ongoing political volatility and shifting alliances within the Indian parliamentary landscape.
Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia, who was among the Lok Sabha members to defect to the little-known Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) in June after the Trinamool Congress (TMC) lost power in West Bengal, said on Monday that 17 of them will join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) before Durga Puja in October.He said the initial plan was to join the BJP directly, but it could not happen because of objections from Abu Taher and two other parliamentarians. “So, an arrangement was made for us to join the NCPI.”Also Read | Mamata Banerjee-led TMC announces candidates for Bengal, Assam bypollsNCPI is an unrecognised party that contested two assembly seats in Tripura and polled a few hundred votes.Basunia acknowledged they knew nothing about the NCPI until then. “Now, 17 NCPI MPs [members of Parliament] will join the BJP,” said Basunia, who represents Cooch Behar in Parliament.
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