Jagadish Basunia claimed 17 NCPI MPs will join the BJP around Durga Puja.
Three minority MPs are expected to support the NDA from outside, Basunia said.
Basunia, a rebel TMC MP, made the claim about the proposed political shift.
17 of the 20 Nationalist Citizens Party of India MPs are likely to join the Bharatiya Janata Party before or after Durga Puja in October, rebel Trinamool Congress leader and Cooch Behar MP Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia said on Monday. He said the move would not trigger disqualification because more than two-thirds of the 20-member group would shift together.
“We are 17 MPs going to the BJP together. Since more than two-thirds of the 20 members will be moving, the anti-defection law will not apply to us,” Basunia said, as per PTI.
Basunia also said three MPs from the minority community would not formally join the BJP but would support the National Democratic Alliance from outside. Under the anti-defection law, the two-thirds mark in the 20-member NCPI group is 14 MPs.
Minority MPs Outside
Basunia named the three MPs as Abu Taher Khan, Khalilur Rahaman and Yusuf Pathan. He said they would stay out of the BJP because of political and administrative dynamics in their constituencies.
He added that they would still back the NDA. “They will support the NDA, and may be given important responsibilities or portfolios,” Basunia said.
Protests In Sitai
The claim came amid unrest in Sitai. Basunia and his wife, TMC MLA Sangeeta Roy, faced protests after returning to their ancestral home in Sitai in Cooch Behar.
Locals and BJP workers staged demonstrations against the couple over Basunia’s political shift. A TMC office near his residence was also allegedly set on fire during the unrest.
NCPI Breakaway Background
The latest claim follows a split announced nearly three months ago. On June 14, 20 dissident TMC MPs announced their merger with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India and extended support to the ruling NDA.
That number matters under the anti-defection law. The law requires at least two-thirds of a legislature party to back a merger to avoid disqualification, which puts the threshold for the 20-member NCPI group at 14 MPs.
Basunia has said he has severed ties with the TMC and is now aligned with the NDA. The Mamata Banerjee-led party saw a major breakaway of Parliament and assembly strength after its defeat in Bengal polls to the BJP and Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar led the faction of rebel Lok Sabha members that formed the NCPI.
