After the revolt of TMC MLAs against Mamata Banerjee, at least 21 party MPs from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha are likely to switch their loyalty.
According to multiple reports, as many as 21 MPs led by Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar and Sukhendu Ray met Union Minister and BJP’s West Bengal in-charge Bhupendra Yadav in New Delhi.
The MPs who met Yadav included, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Partha Bhowmick, Jagadish Basunia, Mitali Bag, Dev, Shatabdi Roy, Rachna Banerjee, Sharmila Sarkar, Kalipada Soren, Arup Chakraborty, Asit Mal, Shatrughan Sinha, Prasun Banerjee, Pratima Mondal, and Bapi Haldar, reported Hindustan Times.
Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari was also reportedly present during the meeting, which came hours after an unconfirmed number of TMC MLAs allegedly wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, urging him to allot them seats as a separate faction.
Notably, the TMC has 28 MPs in the Lok Sabha and for any rebellion against the Mamata Banerjee-led party, they will require one third of the majority, which is 19 seats, to avoid expulsion under the anti-defection law.
Some reports suggested that the MPs are exploring two options – merge with the BJP or tender mass resignations.
The development comes hours after Sukhendu Ray resigned as the Rajya Sabha member of the TMC and gave up his primary membership of the party.
In his resignation letter, the TMC MP accused the previous Mamata Banerjee-led Bengal government of rampant corruption and abysmal failure on various fronts.
“In the recently held election to the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, the people have given huge mandate in favour of the Bhartiya Janata Party for the first time in the history of the state to put an end to 15-year anarchical rule of the Trinamool Congress arising out of widespread unbridled corruption, atrocities committed against women, abysmal failure in the field of health, education, industry, law and order, employment, etc,” he said.
Ray said that he had made the decision even before the Assembly elections when his demand for a probe into the role of certain police officials in the RG Kar rape and murder case was ignored.
The rebellion in the Parliamentary ranks of the TMC is unfolding at a time when party supremo Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee are in Delhi to attend the INDIA bloc meeting.
Mamata, who once questioned the Congress party’s leadership of the bloc, sat beside Sonia Gandhi as the Opposition leaders discussed their strategy to counter the BJP.
Mamata has so far not reacted to the reports of the TMC MPs’ meeting with Adhikari and Yadav but it is being claimed that the rebel TMC parliamentarians have blocked her.