Trinamool Congress Faces Intensified Internal Crisis as Dissident MPs Announce Merger

The internal crisis in the Trinamool Congress appeared to intensify on Sunday after a group of dissident MPs claimed they had broken away from the party and announced their merger with the Nationalist Citizens Party.

NEW DELHI/KOLKATA: The internal crisis in the Trinamool Congress appeared to intensify on Sunday after a group of dissident MPs claimed they had broken away from the party and announced their merger with the Nationalist Citizens Party. The rebel MPs met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and sought recognition as a separate group in Parliament. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, rebel MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar claimed that two-thirds of the TMC’s Lok Sabha members had backed the move. "Two-thirds MPs of TMC have given a letter to the Speaker for a separate seating arrangement. We will merge with the Nationalist Citizens Party and support the NDA," she said. Senior TMC leader and Lok Sabha MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay said the dissident group had already merged with the Nationalist Citizens Party, describing it as a regional party. The Nationalist Citizens Party is a lesser-known registered, unrecognised party from Tripura.

The 'real party disputes'

The move has triggered a fresh political battle over who represents the "real TMC". Asked about the claim by the Mamata Banerjee-led faction, Bandyopadhyay said the matter would ultimately be decided by courts. "Court will decide later who is the real TMC. We met the Speaker and gave him our request," he said. He added that the faction would also stake claim to the party’s electoral symbol of two flowers. Meanwhile, TMC leaders Kirti Azad and Sagarika Ghosh met Speaker Birla and submitted a letter from TMC Lok Sabha leader Abhishek Banerjee, urging him not to recognise any separate faction. The letter, dated June 10 and earlier sent through email, argued that the Constitution does not allow the creation of a separate group within an existing political party. It also said the anti-defection law does not permit such a split. Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal criticised the rebel MPs and called for their disqualification, arguing that they cannot merge with another party. Sibal said in a post on X, "TMC rebels: Will merge with Nationalist Citizens Party (NCP). Indian democracy has become the 'theatre of the absurd'. A joke!" "The rebels of the TMC legislative party cannot merge with a political party; that can happen only if the TMC wished to do so!" he added. "Disqualify them!" he said.

The earlier cases

Shiv Sena split (2022-23): After the split between the Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde factions, the Election Commission recognised the Shinde faction as the Shiv Sena and allowed it to retain the party’s “bow and arrow” symbol.

Nationalist Congress Party split (2023-24): After Ajit Pawar’s rebellion, the Election Commission recognised the Ajit Pawar faction as the real NCP and allotted it the party’s “clock” symbol.

AIADMK dispute (2017): After the split between the factions led by Edappadi K Palaniswami and O Panneerselvam, the Election Commission decided that the Palaniswami faction was entitled to the AIADMK name and the “two leaves” symbol.

Samajwadi Party dispute (2017): During the fight between Akhilesh Yadav and Mulayam Singh Yadav factions, the Election Commission recognised Akhilesh Yadav’s faction as the Samajwadi Party and allowed it to retain the “cycle” symbol.

How are 'real party' disputes decided?

The Election Commission decides disputes over a party’s name and election symbol by examining the claims of rival factions. In earlier cases, the poll panel has looked at factors including the support enjoyed by each faction among elected representatives and the party organisation before deciding which group can use the original party name and symbol. The EC’s decisions can later be challenged in courts.