Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar has announced that 20 MPs part of the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, including herself, have decided to support the BJP-led National Democractic Alliance at the Centre. At present, the party has a total of 28 MPs in the Lok Sabha.
The party has seen widening rifts ever since its crushing defeat at the hands of BJP's Suvendu Adhikari in the 2026 West Bengal State Assembly Election. The development follows Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Shekhar Ray resignation earlier today.
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Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, who is leading the rebel faction after her removal from the post of the Whip, has said that going by the people's verdict, they believe that their "future political course should be aligned with the NDA".
Nearly 20 Trinamool MPs, including her, "have decided to write to Speaker Om Birla and formally convey our desire to be part of the NDA," Ghosh Dastidar told reporters today.
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The MPs' declaration came following a meeting at the house of BJP leader Bhupendra Yadav's, only a kilometre away from the spot where Mamata Banerjee was attending the INDIA Bloc meeting, with pulling the rebels back to the party as one of the agendas.
"This decision comes after extensive discussions among fellow MPs. As of now, I remain the Chief Whip of the Trinamool in the Lok Sabha, and in that capacity, I have consulted colleagues before arriving at this decision," Ghosh Dastidar stated.
Rebel Trinamool MP Sharmila Sarkar said, "We are forming a different bloc of 20 MPs and going to give support to the NDA. Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar is our chief whip and Shatabdi Roy is our deputy leader", as per NDTV reports.
Interestingly, the shift mirrors the events in West Bengal, where 58 MLAs - led by expelled rebel Ritabrata Banerjee - have taken a page out of Shiv Sena's book to form a fresh bloc, claiming to be the "real" Trinamool.
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