Most former TMC MPs say they will move from NCPI to BJP before Durga Puja
Seventeen of the twenty MPs who joined the Nationalist Citizens Party of India say they will switch to the Bharatiya Janata Party before the upcoming Durga Puja festival.
After the Trinamool Congress lost its grip on West Bengal, twenty of its Lok Sabha members defected to the obscure Nationalist Citizens Party of India in June. Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia, representing Cooch Behar, told reporters that seventeen of those MPs intend to join the Bharatiya Janata Party before the Durga Puja celebrations in October, noting that the initial plan to enter the BJP directly was blocked by objections from three parliamentarians.
He added that he will follow the group’s decision. However, three NCPI MPs from Murshidabad - Khan, Khalilur Rahman and Yusuf Pathan - publicly rejected the notion, saying no one authorized Basunia to speak for them and they will not join the BJP. Other NCPI legislators, including Shatabdi Roy, Arup Chakraborty, Mitali Bag and Kalipada Soren, either declined to comment or said they were unaware of any such decision.
West Bengal BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya did not rule out the possibility but emphasized that acceptance would be decided at the highest party level. The shift follows a broader realignment after the TMC’s sweep of the 2024 national polls in the state and subsequent resignations and defections to the BJP.
Why it matters
The potential transfer of dozens of MPs could reshape West Bengal's political balance ahead of key elections.
How the sides frame it
HIGH AGREEMENTBoth camps report that most NCPI legislators plan to join the BJP around Durga Puja, with a minority expected only to support the NDA, but left-leaning coverage adds detail about the anti-defection law while centrist coverage emphasizes the backing of the NDA without formal membership.
LEFT
Left-leaning coverage highlights the number of MPs moving to the BJP, the timing with Durga Puja, and notes that the anti-defection law will not apply to the majority.
CENTER
Centrist coverage frames the story as a large majority of NCPI legislators preparing to switch allegiance to the BJP, with three others expected to back the NDA without formally joining, linked to Durga Puja.
The left emphasises
- seventeen of twenty MPs will join the BJP
- defections are timed with Durga Puja
- anti-defection law will not apply to the majority
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