creates stir
Just before Durga Puja, a new stir has erupted in Bengal politics. Jagdish Basunia, a rebel MP from Cooch Behar who broke away from the TMC, has claimed that 17 of the 20 rebel TMC MPs who joined the NCP will join the BJP before or after Durga Puja. According to a PTI report, his claim has caused a split within the rebel group. Fellow MPs have flatly denied this, while the BJP has also clearly stated that it will not accept any such leader into the party.
Jagdish Basunia rebelled against Mamata Banerjee after the TMC’s crushing defeat and later joined the NCP. He claims that the 17 MPs have collectively decided to join the BJP. They argue that the simultaneous defection of 17 out of a group of 20 MPs represents more than two-thirds of the total, making them ineligible for the anti-defection law.
In fact, after the results of the May 2026 assembly elections, 20 of the 27 TMC MPs rebelled, joined the NCPI, and announced their support for the NDA.
Basunia’s statement has drawn open opposition from his fellow rebel MPs. Shatabdi Roy clarified that Basunia made these remarks in his personal capacity and that the group of MPs had not made any such joint decision. Meanwhile, Murshidabad MP Abu Tahir Khan sternly stated that Basunia has no right to speak on behalf of all MPs.
Abu Taher also categorically rejected claims that he, Jangipur MP Khalilur Rahman, and Baharampur MP Yusuf Pathan would support the NDA from outside. He categorically stated, “We are neither joining the BJP nor the NDA.”
The Bengal BJP has also taken a firm stance on this entire development. State President Shamik Bhattacharya taunted Basunia’s claims, asking if he was talking about a BJP from Mars. Bhattacharya said that no one can join the party simply because they want to. He categorically stated that there are no plans to induct anyone from the TMC or the NPCI into the BJP, and that the people of Bengal have not forgotten the atrocities committed during TMC rule.
The future of the 20 rebel TMC MPs is currently hanging in the balance, as they are still TMC MPs in the Parliament records. Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee have demanded Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to disqualify them and have also approached the Supreme Court for an early resolution of the matter. The Speaker has given these rebel MPs time till September 22 to respond to the notice of the Lok Sabha Secretariat.