Kolkata, June 14: Rebel Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar announced on Sunday that her faction now includes 22 MPs, not just 20 as previously reported.
Ghosh made this statement while heading to Delhi, where a significant meeting of the rebel MPs is scheduled to take place.
She revealed that Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has granted her an appointment for Monday. The rebel MPs plan to meet with him to formally request the formation of a separate parliamentary block.
On Saturday, Sudip Bandopadhyay, the MP from Kolkata North, joined the rebel group, raising the count to 20.
Sources within the rebel faction indicated that the meeting was initially set for Kolkata but was later moved to Delhi. There were speculations about West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari attending, but he will not be present due to a prior commitment in Digha.
While en route to Delhi, Ghosh claimed that two more MPs are expected to join the rebel TMC group.
Speaking to the media at the airport, she stated, “I am heading to Delhi for a meeting. We now have a total of 22 members. The Lok Sabha Speaker has scheduled a meeting for Monday, where we will formally request the formation of a separate block.”
However, Ghosh did not disclose the identities of the two MPs who are set to join the rebel faction in Delhi. She assured that the media would be informed once they officially become part of the group.
She emphasized, “We have reached out to those who have honestly expressed their views against the situation in West Bengal over the past four to five years. Our group now numbers 22.”
The TMC has been in turmoil since the results of the recent West Bengal Assembly elections were announced.
On June 1, clear signs of a split within the TMC parliamentary party emerged, as many MPs revolted against the leadership of party supremo Mamata Banerjee.
At the time of this public rebellion, both Banerjee and the party’s national general secretary, Abhishek Banerjee, were in Delhi.
On the same day, Ghosh claimed that around 20 MPs were supporting her and expressed their desire to back the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government.
Additionally, a document surfaced on Friday, bearing the signatures of 19 TMC MPs. Ghosh’s signature was first, followed by Shatabdi Roy and others, including Bapi Haldar and Sharmila Ghosh.
Later, MPs Rachna Banerjee and Sayoni Ghosh also signed the document separately.
According to sources from the rebel MPs, these 19 have written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, requesting recognition as a separate parliamentary block under Ghosh’s leadership.
It remains unclear whether the Speaker has received this letter and, if so, when.
Rebel sources have indicated that they have decided to support the BJP-led NDA alliance.
Ghosh asserts that the Lok Sabha Speaker has scheduled a meeting for Monday, where they will formally request the formation of a separate parliamentary block.
Following Sudip Bandopadhyay’s inclusion in the rebel group on Saturday, the number of MPs rose to 20. With Ghosh’s claim of 22 MPs, political circles are buzzing about the identities of the two new supporters of the rebel faction.
Notably, eight rebel MPs whose signatures are absent from the document include Abhishek Banerjee, Kalyan Banerjee, Sougata Roy, Mahua Moitra, Kirti Azad, Shatrughan Sinha, Pratima Mandal, and Sajda Ahmed.
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