Archive · 14 Sep 2026
Rebel TMC Leader Claims 17 MPs Will Join BJP Soon
A group of 20 TMC lawmakers joined a small party called the NCPI in June.
Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia said 17 of them would soon join the BJP.
He said the other three would support the BJP-led NDA without officially joining the BJP.
Basunia believes the group is large enough to avoid punishment under India’s anti-defection rules.
The BJP said it would not accept people simply because they wanted to join.
Several lawmakers named in the announcement said they did not know about any such plan.
The TMC has asked for the lawmakers to be disqualified.
The group is still not officially recognised as the NCPI in the Lok Sabha.
Rebel TMC leader Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia claimed 17 of 20 MPs would join the BJP around October’s Durga Puja.
Basunia said Abu Taher Khan, Khalilur Rahaman and Yusuf Pathan would support the NDA without formally joining the BJP.
He argued that moving more than two-thirds of the 20-member group would protect the MPs from anti-defection penalties.
The BJP rejected the claim, while several named MPs said they were unaware of any decision to join the party or alliance.
The 20 MPs’ merger with the NCPI remains contested, and Lok Sabha records still list them as TMC members.
- Who
- Rebel TMC leader Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia made the claim about 20 MPs; the BJP and several of the named MPs disputed or questioned it.
- What
- Basunia said 17 MPs would join the BJP and three others would support the National Democratic Alliance without formally joining.
- When
- The proposed BJP move was described as occurring before or after Durga Puja, which runs from October 6 to October 10; the merger announcement was made in June.
- Where
- The dispute concerns the Lok Sabha and the political organisation of the MPs in India.
- Why
- Basunia cited the anti-defection law, while the TMC argues that the merger and any resulting party switch should lead to disqualification.
TMC, BJP and dissenting MPs
Rebel leader’s claimed alignment
Whether the BJP move is confirmed
TMC, BJP and dissenting MPs
The BJP rejected the claim that it would accept people simply because they wanted to join, and several MPs said they had no knowledge of such a decision.
Rebel leader’s claimed alignment
Basunia said 17 MPs had decided to join the BJP together around October’s Durga Puja.
Three MPs’ intended alignment
TMC, BJP and dissenting MPs
Abu Taher Khan explicitly said the three MPs would not join the BJP or the NDA, while other named MPs disputed or questioned the broader announcement.
Rebel leader’s claimed alignment
Basunia said Abu Taher Khan, Khalilur Rahaman and Yusuf Pathan would support the NDA without formally joining the BJP.
Anti-defection law
TMC, BJP and dissenting MPs
The TMC argues that a valid merger requires two-thirds of the political party, not merely two-thirds of its legislature party, and has sought disqualification of the MPs.
Rebel leader’s claimed alignment
Basunia said that because 17 of the 20 MPs were moving together, the anti-defection law would not apply to them.
- Claimed BJP move
- Basunia said 17 of the 20 MPs would join the BJP around October’s Durga Puja.
- Three exceptions
- Abu Taher Khan, Khalilur Rahaman and Yusuf Pathan were said to support the NDA without formally joining the BJP.
- Original TMC group
- Twenty of the TMC’s 28 Lok Sabha MPs announced a merger with the NCPI in June.
- BJP response
- BJP state chief Samik Bhattacharya said the party would not accept people merely because they were willing to join.
- MP responses
- Abu Taher Khan rejected the claim, while Shatabdi Roy, Arup Chakraborty, Mitali Bag and Kalipada Soren said they were unaware of such a decision.
- Parliamentary status
- The Speaker allowed the MPs to sit separately, but the group has not been recognised as the NCPI in the Lok Sabha.
- Disqualification challenge
- TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee petitioned Speaker Om Birla and argued that the MPs should be disqualified under the Constitution’s 10th Schedule.
