Rebel TMC MPs feel unrepresented, want to join BJP: CR Patil

Union Minister CR Patil said 20 rebel TMC MPs feel unrepresented and want to join the BJP, citing a lack of public support for Mamata Banerjee. The move was reportedly confirmed by rebel MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar amid party turmoil.

Rebel MPs See Future with BJP: CR Patil

Union Minister CR Patil on Tuesday said that the rebel TMC MPs felt unrepresented and pressurised in the party, adding that they wish to separate after releasing the lack of public support for the former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led party.

Speaking with ANI, Patil said that the 20 TMC MPs who wish to defect from the party want to join the BJP due to its developmental and futuristic ideology and the trust of the public. "The elected MPs there also feel that public opinion is against the TMC, and that is why they, too, have distanced themselves from the party at the right time. They have separated themselves from there. Even though they were associated with them for so many years, they were unable to speak out due to pressure. Today, they got a chance to speak, to express their views, and to understand the people's point of view," he said. "They realised that the public is not with the TMC right now. They are with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with the BJP, and with the NDA. The huge change that has come about is because they feel that the future is here, the people's future is here, and development is also here--and that is exactly why they want to come," he added.

Mixed Reactions from Political Leaders

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya accused the TMC of having "no ideology, no vision", calling the defection TMC's problem. However, RJD leader Manoj Kumar Jha called the issue a crisis for democracy, not just for the party or state. "This is not a crisis for TMC, Mamata Banerjee, or West Bengal, but a crisis for our democracy. There is no trust and no principles. One nation, one party, and one leader," he stated.

20 TMC MPs Signal Breakaway

This comes after nearly 20 Trinamool Congress (TMC) Members of Parliament formally signalled their desire to break away from their party's current political trajectory and align with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

Rebel TMC MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar on Monday confirmed the development to an ANI reporter with a 'Thumbs Up' emoji. "A total of 20 TMC Members of Parliament have formally addressed a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, expressing their desire to extend support to the NDA, signalling a potential shift in the political landscape of West Bengal and national parliamentary dynamics," Dastidar said.

The development comes amid intensifying internal turmoil following the party's defeat in the West Bengal Assembly elections, which saw the state elect its first BJP government under Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. The political rift was starkly visible today as Mamata Banerjee arrived in New Delhi for an INDIA bloc meeting at the Constitution Club. While Banerjee, national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, and other loyalist senior leaders attended the opposition conclave, a significant rebel faction took a different path. (ANI)

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