'We're Now 22': Kakoli Claims Rebel Faction Converges On Delhi Amid Crisis, Says 2 More TMC MPs Ready to Move

New Delhi: In a development that threatens to trigger a vertical split within the Trinamool Congress (TMC), rebel parliamentarian Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar announced that two more Lok Sabha MPs are set to join the dissident camp. 

The addition brings the rebel group’s total strength to 22, severely jeopardising Mamata Banerjee’s control over her parliamentary party.

The announcement came at Kolkata airport as a high-powered delegation of dissident leaders prepared to fly to New Delhi. 

The group has scheduled a crucial meeting with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to request recognition as a separate parliamentary bloc and to stake their claim as the "real Trinamool."

"We are going to Delhi for a meeting. Twenty-two MPs are with us," Ghosh Dastidar told reporters. "The Speaker has given us time. Those who honestly voiced their opinions against the situation prevailing in West Bengal over the last four to five years have been in touch with us." 

While she declined to name the two new defectors immediately, she stated their identities would be made public once formal procedures are completed.

Under the rules of the anti-defection law (Tenth Schedule), a breakaway faction must command at least a two-thirds majority of the party’s strength, amounting to 19 MPs, to form a separate group or merge with another party without facing automatic disqualification. By pushing their numbers to 22, the rebels have comfortably cleared this critical constitutional barrier.

The breakaway faction’s position was further reinforced by senior TMC MP and veteran leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay, who aligned himself with the dissidents.

Several prominent rebel figures, including Saayoni Ghosh, Mala Roy, Satabdi Roy, and Arup Chakraborty, were spotted arriving at the New Delhi residence of Union Minister and senior BJP leader Bhupender Yadav, fueling widespread intense speculation about an imminent alliance with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

The internal rebellion follows the TMC’s defeat in the West Bengal Assembly elections, where the BJP secured a landslide victory.

The dissident camp has framed the uprising as a stand against long-term misgovernance and dynastic overreach within the party hierarchy.

Meanwhile, the mainstream TMC leadership is attempting to contain the damage. National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee has written to the Lok Sabha Speaker, urging the secretariat to treat the AITC as a single, unified entity and reject any recognition or administrative facilities for the dissident faction.

Despite these defensive efforts, the defection of nearly 80 per cent of the party's Lok Sabha contingent marks the most severe challenge to Mamata Banerjee's authority since she founded the TMC.

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