The Trinamool Congress is facing a fresh internal crisis after a group of 17 rebel Members of Parliament announced they had merged with the Nationalist Citizens' Party of India (NCPI), a recognised regional party, setting the stage for a legal and parliamentary battle that could reshape the Opposition bloc in the Lok Sabha.TMC rebel MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay confirmed the development in Delhi, telling ANI, "We have joined the Nationalist Citizens' Party. This is a political party. It is a recognised regional party. We have merged with it. It will be decided in the court which one the real TMC is."#WATCH | Delhi: TMC rebel MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay says, "We have joined the Nationalist Citizens' Party. This is a political party. It is a recognised regional party. We have merged with it... It will be decided in the court which one the real TMC is." pic.twitter.com/BEbG5atOUx— ANI (@ANI) June 14, 2026The rebel MPs also met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla in Delhi to press their case, with photographs showing the group handing over a written submission to the Speaker.PHOTO | Rebel TMC MPs meet Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla in Delhi.(Source: Third Party) pic.twitter.com/L2Ud614UD6— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) June 14, 2026The move was swiftly repudiated by the NCPI's own General Secretary, who denied all reports of any such merger, according to NDTV. The contradiction threw the announcement into immediate doubt, with the party's internal position at odds with the rebels' public claims.VIDEO | On 'rebel' MPs merging with Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), TMC leader Kunal Ghosh (@KunalGhoshAgain) says, "We do not know which party they are going to join or with whom they are aligning. But the people here were Mamata Didi's candidates, and they won on… pic.twitter.com/z5oJsi9Gnl— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) June 14, 2026TMC leader Kunal Ghosh, reacting sharply to the development, accused the breakaway MPs of betraying their mandate.ALSO READ: 20 Rebel TMC MPs Seek Separate Recognition; Announce Merger With NCPI, Support To NDA"The people here were Mamata Didi's candidates, and they won on anti-BJP votes. The voters who sent them to Parliament in Delhi voted against the BJP. So, if they are now joining the BJP camp, it is nothing short of a complete betrayal. This has nothing to do with Mamata Didi or the Trinamool Congress. It is a betrayal of every single voter," Ghosh told PTI.West Bengal minister Dilip Ghosh, speaking to ANI, acknowledged the political significance of the Speaker's meeting without taking sides."Any MP can go and meet the Speaker and present their case. If they are recognized as a separate party, they have the right to separate seating. However, it is true that everyone wants to leave the TMC," he said.#WATCH | Kolkata: On TMC rebel MPs meet Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, West Bengal minister Dilip Ghosh says, "Any MP can go and meet the Speaker and present their case. I don't know the specific objectives or the details of the conversation, but it is true that a lot is going on...… pic.twitter.com/lmxBU5Q3U3— ANI (@ANI) June 15, 2026Meanwhile, TMC parliamentary party leader Abhishek Banerjee urged the Speaker not to recognise any separate faction, arguing that the Constitution and anti-defection law do not permit parallel groups within a political party.The battle for control of the TMC is also playing out in West Bengal, where 64 of the party's 80 MLAs recently broke away, a move currently under challenge before the Calcutta High Court.The TMC, which holds a significant bloc of Lok Sabha seats from West Bengal, now faces the prospect of a floor split, a court battle over the party's name, and mounting questions over Mamata Banerjee's grip on her parliamentary contingent.ALSO READ: Noida International Airport Begins Operations Today, Flyers Rejoice