NDA Support, Leadership Battle, Defection Row: How Internal Turmoil Has Brought TMC To The Brink
NDA Support, Leadership Battle, Defection Row: How Internal Turmoil Has Brought TMC To The Brink Published By, Last Updated: June 09, 2026, 08:01 IST TMC
NDA Support, Leadership Battle, Defection Row: How Internal Turmoil Has Brought TMC To The Brink Published By, Last Updated: June 09, 2026, 08:01 IST TMC faces its biggest internal crisis yet as rebel MPs back the NDA, challenge party leadership, and trigger a fresh battle over defections and control. New Delhi: TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee arrives for the INDIA bloc meeting (Photo: PTI) The Trinamool Congress (TMC) is facing one of the biggest internal challenges in its history, with a large section of its MPs openly rebelling against party chief Mamata Banerjee’s leadership and signalling support for the BJP-led Democratic Alliance (NDA). The developments mark a dramatic escalation of the turmoil that has engulfed the party since its electoral setback in West Bengal and follow an earlier revolt within the TMC’s legislative ranks in the state Assembly. Over the past few days, meetings, resignations, competing claims over parliamentary leadership, and a possible anti-defection battle have pushed the party into an unprecedented crisis. The immediate trigger came when rebel TMC MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar claimed that nearly 20 party MPs had decided to formally back the NDA and communicate their position to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. Speaking to the news agency PTI, Ghosh Dastidar said the MPs had accepted the people’s verdict and believed their future political course should align with the NDA. Later, she confirmed that a letter expressing support for the NDA had been addressed to the Speaker. The number is politically significant because the TMC currently has 28 Lok Sabha MPs, with one seat vacant following the death of Basirhat MP Haji Nurul Islam. The rebels believe support from around 20 MPs would place them above the two-thirds threshold often cited in discussions around the anti-defection law. THE CHIEF WHIP DISPUTE A parallel dispute has emerged over who is legally recognised as the party’s chief whip in the Lok Sabha.
According to the Indian Express, the rebel camp maintains that Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar remains the chief whip because the process to replace her was allegedly not completed through the required parliamentary procedure. Sources cited by the newspaper said this is why Ghosh Dastidar signed the communication sent on behalf of the dissident faction. However, the TMC leadership has strongly rejected this argument. Party leaders have pointed to a letter dated May 20, signed by Mamata Banerjee as chairperson of the TMC Parliamentary Party, informing the Lok Sabha Secretariat that Kalyan Banerjee had been appointed chief whip. The party shared a copy of the letter carrying a Speaker’s Office receipt stamp dated May 29. The TMC has argued that any communication issued by Ghosh Dastidar as chief whip, therefore, carries no official standing. REBELS SEEK TO AVOID ANTI-DEFECTION ACTION Meanwhile, the dissident MPs have not immediately resigned from the TMC or formally joined the BJP. Instead, they are attempting to function as a separate bloc while extending support to the NDA. The strategy appears aimed at navigating the provisions of the anti-defection law. The rebels believe that by demonstrating support from more than two-thirds of the parliamentary party, they can strengthen their position. TMC leaders, however, have challenged that interpretation. Party sources told PTI that even if two-thirds of MPs wish to leave, the law does not permit the creation of a separate parliamentary group and instead contemplates merger with another political party. The leadership has also questioned the legality and morality of MPs elected on a TMC mandate continuing in office while supporting the BJP-led alliance. SECRET MEETINGS AND BJP OUTREACH The rebellion gathered momentum through a series of meetings in Delhi. PTI reported that dissident MPs met at the residence of senior BJP leader and Union Minister Bhupender Yadav.
The BriefWire