Archive · 22 Sep 2026
Rebel NCPI MPs Seek Four More Weeks Against Defection Notices
Twenty members of India’s Lok Sabha left the Trinamool Congress and joined the Nationalist Citizens Party of India.
A petition asks that they lose their parliamentary seats under the anti-defection law.
The MPs were given a deadline to explain their position.
On the day that deadline ended, they asked for four more weeks.
Their representative said they needed time to collect important documents.
A Trinamool Congress leader criticized the request and called the MPs opportunists.
The MPs’ representative said the Lok Sabha and the court should decide the matter.
Official records still list the MPs as Trinamool Congress members.
Twenty MPs who left the Trinamool Congress and joined the Nationalist Citizens Party of India sought another four weeks to answer anti-defection notices.
The extension request was submitted to the Lok Sabha Secretariat on Tuesday, when the previous deadline expired.
NCPI parliamentary chairperson Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar said the MPs needed more time to compile documents for their responses.
The notices relate to a petition by Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee seeking cancellation of their Lok Sabha memberships.
The dispute continues as Lok Sabha records list the MPs as Trinamool Congress members, while their requested recognition as an NCPI group remains unresolved.
- Who
- Twenty MPs who left the Trinamool Congress and joined the Nationalist Citizens Party of India; the petition was filed by Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.
- What
- The MPs requested four additional weeks to respond to petitions seeking their disqualification under the anti-defection law.
- When
- The request was made on Tuesday, the day the previous reply deadline expired; notices had been sent on August 26.
- Where
- The request was submitted to the Lok Sabha Secretariat.
- Why
- The MPs said they needed more time to compile documents for their responses.
Rebel MPs and NCPI
Trinamool Congress faction
Request for more time
Rebel MPs and NCPI
The MPs say they need four additional weeks to collate the documents required for their responses.
Trinamool Congress faction
TMC leader Kunal Ghosh criticized the request, questioning why the MPs needed more time to state which party they belonged to.
Decision on membership
Rebel MPs and NCPI
NCPI parliamentary chairperson Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar said the issue should be decided by the court and the Lok Sabha.
Trinamool Congress faction
The TMC faction is pursuing a petition seeking cancellation of the MPs’ Lok Sabha memberships under the anti-defection law.
Political alignment
Rebel MPs and NCPI
The MPs left the TMC, joined the NCPI and extended support to the BJP-led NDA; some dissidents rejected a claim that 17 MPs would join the BJP.
Trinamool Congress faction
The TMC faction accused the MPs of using anti-BJP votes while ultimately serving the BJP.
- MPs involved
- 20
- Former party
- Trinamool Congress
- New party
- Nationalist Citizens Party of India
- Extension requested
- Four weeks
- Petitioner
- Abhishek Banerjee, Trinamool Congress national general secretary
- Notice authority
- Lok Sabha Secretariat
- Current records
- Lok Sabha records continue to list the MPs as Trinamool Congress members